CALEDONIA, Mich. - The Davenport baseball season came to a close on Saturday in the Midwest Regional #1 as the University of Indianapolis is heading back to the super regionals for the third straight season after a 6-1 win over the Panthers in the second game of the best-of-three series. The top-seeded Panthers suffered a similar fate to 2022, when they couldn't get to the super regionals despite being the top seed in the Midwest. The Greyhounds used a formula of great pitching and timely hitting in their two wins of the series. Saturday's game saw Davenport strike out a season-high 14 times out of the 27 outs recorded by UIndy.
Bennett Rogers (6-4) had one of his best performances of the season in the biggest moment for the Greyhounds. He lasted six innings and allowed one run in the sixth inning. Rogers scattered six hits with no walks and struck out 10 or more batters for the fourth time this season, with 11 punchouts. Payton Plym had similar success out of the bullpen as he went the final three innings and allowed no hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The tandem held DU to one run, 6.9 runs below their season average. DU also lost two consecutive games for the first time since Apr. 6 at Lewis in a doubleheader.
Austin VanderMarkt got the start for Davenport and lost his first game of the season (7-1). He struggled with his command in 2.2 innings and allowed four walks. VanderMarkt got touched up for four runs on five hits as UIndy scored four runs in the bottom of the third, and it was all the scoring they needed. Nick Lukac had an RBI single with one out to score Easton Good, who walked with one out and moved to third on a single by Austin Bode. Cole Hampton singled home a run on the next at-bat as Bode scored for a 2-0 lead. Ian Kennedy hit a long sacrifice fly to center to score Chase Mason, who walked on four pitches earlier. Lukac followed with the fourth run scored on a wild pitch on ball four to Brayton Bowen.
James Geshel then came on and got a strikeout of Luke Smock to end the inning.
Geshel did a fine job out of the bullpen as he threw 3.1 innings and allowed just one run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
Conor Gausselin finished the game for DU in two innings and gave up no earned runs on a hit with a walk, and a strikeout.
Xander Reisbig had both extra-base hits for the Panthers. He doubled twice and tied the team lead with 17, shared with
Justin Johnson,
Coltrane Rubner, and
Michael Tchavdarov. Reisbig finished 2-for-4 with the run that scored, and that came on a Johnson RBI single up the middle in the top of the sixth inning. The Panthers left seven runners on base.Â
The great season finishes at 42-15 overall and is the best win percentage for Davenport since joining NCAA Division II. A special shout-out to a four-year guy in
Logan Todd, who played in 161 career games and made 114 starts for DU. He finishes with 297 infield assists, which is fifth all-time at DU. VanderMarkt is another four-year player who finishes his career with an 11-4 record and 4.25 ERA in 106 innings.Â
