GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport University Panthers are less than 24 hours from throwing their first pitch in Springfield, Ill., at the UIS Capital City Classic, marking the beginning of a new era as first-year head coach Brad Koch takes his first steps on the field as a Panther.
The Capital City Classic will feature two doubleheaders against Illinois Springfield and Ohio Dominican—both non-GLIAC opponents. UIS was picked fifth out of 15 teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll, while Ohio Dominican was selected fourth out of 13 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
The Prairie Stars enter the weekend at 7-3 after a four-game winning streak over Lake Erie and Thomas More (Feb. 12-13). Emme Steward leads UIS offensively, hitting .591 (13-for-22) through the opening stretch, while Rosie Bartletti and Sidney Sawyer are each batting .375. In the circle, Bartlett has served as a strong two-way presence, leading the team with a 5-1 record and a 0.22 ERA across 32.1 innings pitched this season.
The Ohio Dominican Panthers are still searching for their first win of the 2026 season, entering the weekend at 0-4 after competing at the Chattanooga Invitational earlier this month. Addie Triplett leads ODU at the plate, hitting .500 (5-for-10), while Erica Massey is batting .429 (6-for-14) through the opening stretch. In the circle, the Panthers have primarily relied on Emma Grau and Alyvia Lawrentz, with Grau posting a team-best 3.87 ERA over 12.2 innings pitched so far this season.
Head coach Brad Koch is eager to open Davenport's 19-game non-conference slate, viewing it as an opportunity to evaluate and develop his roster ahead of GLIAC play. "I think with that many games it's going to be really nice to be able to work different people in different situations and see where and when we'll get to a lineup that we're going to be more consistent with," Koch said. "It also allows us to let everybody get some playing time and see who can do what, and see how the pitchers are going to fare against different teams. By the time we get to GLIAC play, we'll have been pretty battle tested at that point."
Davenport opens the 2026 season Thursday, February 19, facing Ohio Dominican at 12:00 p.m. before taking on Illinois Springfield at 2:00 p.m. The Panthers will mirror that slate Friday, February 20, beginning with ODU at 11:00 a.m. and wrapping up the weekend against UIS at 3:00 p.m.
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