GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport baseball team will host the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional #1 for the second time in program history (2022) beginning on Thursday, May 15, at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex in Caledonia, Michigan. The top-seeded Panthers will take part in the three-team regional along with the fourth-seeded University of Indianapolis and fifth-seeded Ashland University. The Greyhounds and Eagles will play the first game on Thursday, beginning at 12:00 PM and the Panthers will play the loser of that contest at 3:30 PM. It is a double-elimination format and the winner will move on the super regionals, which will be played next week. Grand Valley State is hosting the other Midwest Regional and that gets underway on Thursday as well. The second-seeded Lakers will tangle with seventh-seeded Missouri S&T at 11:00 AM followed by third-seeded Lewis against sixth-seeded Northwood at 2:00 PM. The winners of each sub-regional will play at the highest remaining seed in a best-of-three game series. Davenport rose four spots this week in the ABCA Division II poll and are No. 8 heading into regionals.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Davenport was able to go undefeated in the GLIAC Tournament for the second time (2021) this past week in Lansing, Michigan. The Panthers won their first contest, 19-3, against Roosevelt and scored their most runs in a GLIAC Tournament game ever. They then went on to win the next three games in walk-off fashion. They beat Parkside 4-3 on Friday, May 9, as Coltrane Rubner delivered the walk-off single with two outs. Logan Todd and Sam Clay singled with two outs before Rubner to set up the winning hit. DU needed 10 innings on Saturday, May 10, but prevailed 6-5 against Grand Valley State. The Panthers went ahead 3-0 after four innings, but saw the Lakers rally with four straight runs to take a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth. The Panthers tied it up on Dylan Pawenski's RBI single to score pinch runner Wyatt Epple. GVSU went ahead 5-4 in the top of the 10th as Brendan Guciardo hit a sacrifice fly to score Jovan Gill. DU had the answer in the bottom of the 10th as Cody Hultink took a 3-2 pitch with two outs to right center, plating Clay and Rubner for the 6-5 victory. In the championship game on Sunday, May 11, DU faced off against Wayne State, and the Warriors led until the ninth inning, when Pawenski scored on a passed ball to send the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Clay hit a three-run, walk-off home run with one out for the 7-4 triumph. Davenport won the GLIAC regular season and tournament titles in the same year for the third time in the last five seasons to become the top seed in the Midwest Region.

The Panthers had a total of five players named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team. Pawenski at catcher, Clay at second base, Rubner in the outfield, Xander Reisbig at DH, and Mason Hill at pitcher were the selections after helping lead Davenport to the championship. Pawenski batted .308 in the tournament with four RBI, two walks, and two sacrifice flies. Clay hit .350 with a team-leading seven runs scored and drove in his only three runs of the tournament on the walk-off homer against Wayne State. Rubner led the team, hitting .444 with eight hits in 18 at-bats. He scored six times and had one double and one RBI, which won the game against Parkside. Reisbig backed up his GLIAC Player of the Year honors with a .400 batting average (6-15) with four runs scored, four doubles, one home run, and a team-high six RBI. Hill made two appearances out of the bullpen and got two wins. He threw a total of six innings and allowed just one hit with one walk and eight strikeouts. The Panthers hit .276 during the GLIAC Tournament with a team earned-run average of 2.31.

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport has an even 5-5 all-time series against UIndy. The teams played a four-game series back on March 7-9 in Indianapolis, and Davenport won three of those four games. The Greyhounds trailed 8-0 after four and a half innings in game one of the series, and then scored 11 straight times to take an 11-8 lead after seven innings. Davenport regained the lead with four runs in the top of the ninth, and Chase Kemp had the go-ahead RBI single for the 12-11 lead. UIndy won it in the bottom of the ninth as Luke Smock drove home two runs with one out against Ian Dixon for the game-winning play. The Panthers took the next three games by a combined score of 26-8. Keegan Batka threw a seven-inning shutout in game one on Saturday, March 8, to the tune of 5-0. He allowed six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts. Hultink helped start the five-run seventh inning for the Panthers with a two-run scoring single. The third run was scored via an error, and Vincent Hardy had a two-run scoring single to conclude the scoring plays. Davenport won 13-7 in game two with a 15-hit parade. Hultink went 3-for-6 with a double, three runs scored, two steals, and two RBI. Justin Johnson had a pair of hits including a double and stole a base. Logan Todd went 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, and a run scored. Michael Tchavdarov drove in three runs and hit a three-run homer in the second inning. Pawenski also smacked a two-run bomb in the fifth inning and went 2-for-3 with two walks, and two runs scored. Colton Blankstrom got the win in relief for DU. He went 3.1 innings and allowed no runs on three hits with one walk and three punchouts. DU won the season finale 8-1 on Sunday, March 9 and broke open a 3-1 lead with two runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth. Johnson homered in the eighth inning and finished with three RBI. Hultink had an RBI single, Tchavdarov had an RBI triple, and Johnson had a RBI single in the ninth. Pawenski finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Austin VanderMarkt went six innings in his start to get the victory. He allowed one run on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Brandon Skorupski got a three-inning save, allowing no runs on two hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

Davenport had a very slight 11-10 lead in the all-time series against Ashland. The two teams played back on March 2 at the University of Tampa, and the Panthers prevailed 4-0 behind a trio of pitchers. Batka went seven innings and allowed just three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Hill threw a clean eighth inning and allowed no hits with two walks and a strikeout. Dixon closed out the ninth in order and retired two batters via the strikeout. Todd was the only Panther with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored. Pawenski got DU on the board with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Garrett Swan had an RBI single in the fifth, and later Hultink scored on a stolen base. Johnson drove in Swan with an RBI single to conclude the scoring. The Panthers are 6-2 against the Eagles at home, but haven't played at The Farm since 2021. 

Previous NCAA regional results:

• May 28, 2021 - Lindenwood 6, DU 2
• May 28, 2021 - DU 16, Northwood 1
• May 29, 2021 - DU 22, Quincy 13
• May 30, 2021 - DU 6, Trevecca Nazarene 2
• May 30, 2021 (Championship Game) - Trevecca Nazarene 11, DU 9
• May 19, 2022 - Quincy 17, DU 4
• May 20, 2022 - DU 8, Northwood 7 (11 inn)
• May 21, 2022 - Quincy 9, DU 7

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
UIndy enters regional action with an overall record of 30-22. The Greyhounds are no stranger to the postseason, as they are making their third straight appearance, and have a record of 110-64 since the start of 2023. They are the reigning two-time Midwest Regional champions. The Greyhounds went 3-0 in the 2023 regional and swept the super regional at Quincy. They also went 4-1 in the 2024 regional and swept Saginaw Valley State on the road in the super regional. UIndy did not win a game in the NCAA Division II National Championship over the past two seasons.

This year's version finished fifth in the GLVC standings (20-11) and were bounced from the GLVC Tournament after two losses against Missouri-St. Louis and Drury. They did defeat Drury, 9-8 in 11 innings, in the opening game of the tournament. The Greyhounds had four players recognized by the GLVC as Austin Bode was First Team All-GLVC, Austin Bestul and Nick Lukac were Second Team All-GLVC, and Diego Cardenas earned Honorable Mention All-GLVC. Bode was third in the GLVC and 29th nationally with a .411 batting average. He has 76 hits comprised of 23 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs. He has driven in 44 runs and also scored 49 times. He has a .703 slugging percentage and .505 on-base percentage. Bode led the GLVC in doubles and was eighth nationally. Bestul has a record of 8-5 in 22 appearances. He has a 6.80 ERA in 45 innings with one save. Lukac is batting .320 (63-197) this season for UIndy with 47 runs scored, 15 doubles, four triples, four home runs, and a team-best 50 RBI. Cardenas has been the team's workhorse on the hill going 76.2 innings in 13 starts. He has a 5.63 ERA and 4-3 record with 29 walks and 81 strikeouts. He ranked third in the GLVC in strikeouts and is 47th nationally. Easton Good is also a player to watch for UIndy. He is batting .306 with 56 hits including 10 doubles, three triples, and four home runs. His great attribute is his speed, which has been on display. He was 46 stolen bases, which leads the GLVC and is seventh in Division II.

Ashland is led by legendary head coach John Schaly. On March 15, 2025, he became the all-time wins leader in NCAA Division II history. He won his 1,325th game on that day and currently has 1,351 victories in his 28th season as a collegiate head coach. He has been the head coach at Ashland since 1998 and also had stops at St. Leo (1992-97) and Berry (1988-91). This will be the 20th time that Ashland has appeared in the NCAA postseason under Schaly. They have won five regional championships and reached the NCAA Division II College World Series five times. AU has won 40 or more games eight times under Schaly's direction.

This year's version is currently 37-17 overall and placed second in the G-MAC North Division standings with a 24-8 record. They were one game behind Northwood who won the regular season and tournament titles in the G-MAC. The Eagles have a record of 7-7 in neutral site games this season. AU won a pair of games in the G-MAC Tournament against Walsh (5-4) and Kentucky Wesleyan (10-2), but Ohio Dominican proved to be their nemesis. They dropped two games to the Panthers by scores of 9-8 in the opening game and 10-5 in the elimination contest. Max Caron was named Co-Player of the Year along with Myles Beale of Northwood. Caron is hitting .399 with 73 hits in 183 at-bats. He has scored 36 runs to compliment his 14 doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 39 RBI. He led the G-MAC in batting average, hits, and on-base percentage (.504). Sean Krueckeberg earned Freshman of the Year honors and hitting .354 with 63 hits in 178 at-bats. He totaled 45 runs scored, 13 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. He also drove in 38 runs and had a .551 slugging percentage. Sam Witt was named First Team All-Conference after hitting .361 with 44 hits in 122 at-bats. He scored 26 runs and collected eight doubles, six home runs, and 21 RBI.  Cam Scott, Hunter Allen, and Jeremiah Cangelosi were also named First Team All-Conference for the Eagles.

LIVE COVERAGE
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