GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport baseball team had a very successful 2025 season, but left wanting more after an exit on home turf in the NCAA regional. The 2026 version will get things going on Friday, Feb. 13 with a doubleheader at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm eastern time against the Hawks. The series will continue on Sunday, Feb. 15 with a single game scheduled for 1:00 pm eastern time. All three games will be played at Loyola Park Baseball Field. Davenport begins the season ranked No. 23 in the D2Baseball.com national poll after winning 42 games last season, including the GLIAC regular season and tournament titles for the third time in five years.

SEASON OUTLOOK
Davenport must replace their top two hitters in terms of batting average in Xander Reisbig and Coltrane Rubner. Luckily, they return the next two guys in Sam Clay and Justin Johnson. The right side of the infield is a strong spot with Clay at second base and Johnson at first base. The left side of the infield lost Logan Todd and Chase Kemp, who played nearly every day. The candidates to fill shortstop include Joey Barboza and Julian Contreras. Travis Liford is the top candidate to get the first crack at third base. Dylan Pawenski is a solid catcher who batted .277 last season for the Panthers with nine dingers and 38 RBI. The outfield is stout in center field with Cody Hultink. The corner outfield spots could see Parker Neel and Wyatt Epple get the nod.

Pitching is the biggest question mark for Davenport especially in the starting rotation. GLIAC Pitcher of the Year Keegan Batka was dominant with an 8-1 record and 91 strikeouts in 84.1 innings. Adam Berghorst went 7-2 with a 3.96 ERA in 77.1 innings with 55 punchouts. Austin VanderMarkt was scheduled to return, but it looks like he will miss the upcoming season due to injury. Sean Knorr, a transfer from Central Michigan University, has the most upside in the rotation. Easton Remick, a transfer from Lansing Community College, and Jeff Agar, a transfer from Michigan State University, are returning from injury in 2025 and hope to fill innings. Lucas Coll, a transfer from Appalachian State, spent two seasons with the Mountaineers and made four appearances in 2025.

The bullpen will return Brayden Flanders, Ian Dixon, Connor Apligian, and Brandon Skorupski. Flanders had a stellar 2.93 ERA in 15.1 innings with 11 strikeouts. Dixon tossed 10 innings and earned three saves. Apligian had a 2-0 record in eight appearances covering 14 innings with 14 punchouts. Skorupski made 17 appearances out of the bullpen and had a 3.60 ERA in 35 innings with two saves and a 3-3 record. Gabe Helder, a redshirt sophomore from Lowell, Michigan, will get the first crack at the closer role. He spent two seasons at the University of Illinois and redshirted at USC-Upstate in 2025.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first time that Davenport and Rockhurst will be playing on the baseball diamond.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
This will also be the season-opening series for Rockhurst. The Hawks were selected 11th out of 15 teams in the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. They posted a 25-23 record in 2025 with a 15-17 mark in the GLVC. They were 8-8 at home with the highlight coming on Apr. 25-27 when they took three of four games against then No. 13 Lewis. Redshirt sophomore Afton Koch is the team's leading hitter returning after a .384 batting average in 2025. Michael Laudando started in 48 games last season and hit .367 with 43 runs scored, seven home runs, and was second on the team with 44 RBI. Jake Canent posted a 6-3 record on the mound as the team's leading hurler, but is not returning after graduating. The Rockhurst pitching staff had a 5.96 ERA last season and opponents hit .297 against them.

LIVE COVERAGE
Live Video (Fee) - GLVC Network
Live Stats


 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Davenport Baseball (@davenport_baseball)