LANSING, Mich. - The Davenport baseball team gave Roosevelt a rude welcome to the GLIAC Tournament on Thursday with a 19-3 victory. The Lakers (15-35), playing in their first tournament contest, got ambushed early as the top-seeded Panthers (38-13) scored 11 runs in the first three innings en route to their most runs scored in a GLIAC Tournament game. Davenport improved to 18-9 all-time in the GLIAC Tournament with the win and have never went 0-2 since their first appearance in 2018.
Austin VanderMarkt got the ball for the Panthers and faced a little trouble in the top of the first, but managed to strand runners on first and third with no outs. James Berry led off with a single and stole second. Kekoa Ogawa singled to right and Berry moved to third. VanderMarkt buckled down to retire the next three batters. That half inning really set the tone as Davenport scored twice in the bottom of the first.
Coltrane Rubner singled to center with one out and
Michael Tchavdarov was hit by a pitch. Both guys moved up a base on a passed ball and
Xander Reisbig put an 0-2 pitch in play on a weak grounder that was fielded by the catcher Kyle Jannenga. He hurried and threw the ball away as two runs scored.
VanderMarkt would pitch six scoreless innings to improve to 7-0 this season. He allowed six hits and walked two with five strikeouts. Keagan Bobbitt got roughed up in the bottom of the second for the Lakers. The bases were loaded with two outs when the damage began. Tchavdarov drew a walk for a 3-0 lead followed by another walk to
Justin Johnson for a 4-0 lead. Reisbig delivered a bases-clearing double to left center for a 7-0 lead.
Cody Hultink reached on an error by Quinn O'Bryan as Reisbig scored and
Dylan Pawenski hit a RBI single to plate Hultink for the 9-0 advantage.
Davenport scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the third and Bobbitt's day was done.
Sam Clay singled with one out and Rubner singled to move Clay to second. Tchavdarov walked and that was the last batter he faced. Omar Abuelhija took over for Roosevelt and uncorked a wild pitch to score Clay. Johnson had a RBI groundout to second and Rubner crossed the plate for the 11-0 lead.
Abuelhija pitched a clean fourth inning, but allowed four runs in the fifth. Johnson had a RBI grounder to the pitcher. Pawenski had a sacrifice fly to score Tchavdarov. Reisbig scored on a wild pitch and Hultink also scored on a wild pitch for the 15-0 margin.
Davenport would score two more runs in the sixth off Abuelhija.
Logan Todd singled to lead off the inning and Clay singled to center. Tchavdarov drove in two runs on a single for the 17-0 lead. Roosevelt scored their three runs in the top of the seventh against
Ian Dixon. None of the runs were earned and RBI singles came from Jack Kieffer and Jannenga.Â
The Panthers were able to substitute freely and scored twice more in the eighth.
Vincent Hardy led off with a hit by pitch and
Darren Kraft walked. This all came against Connor Collins, who was the third pitcher for the Lakers. Both guys advanced on a wild pitch and
Wyatt Epple was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Joey Barboza got the easiest RBI in the game with a walk and Kraft scored on a wild pitch for the final run.
Dixon finished the final three innings and allowed six hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
Parker Neel had a double as a pinch hitter in the seventh.
Chase Kemp was plunked twice and now has been hit 14 times this season. Davenport drew 13 walks on the day, which is the most in any game this season. Clay drew two of those and scored three runs. He extended his hit streak to 17 games, which is the longest of any Panther this season. Rubner scored three times and went 2-for-4. Tchavdarov went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI. Johnson drove in three runs as did Reisbig, who also scored twice. Todd finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.
The Panthers will now await the loser of the Thursday late game between Wayne State and Parkside. That game will take place at 3:00 PM on Friday at Jackson Field in Lansing, Mich.
