GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – It was a winning week for the Davenport baseball team as they were 3-2 against regional opponents to begin March. They dispatched Missouri-St. Louis 12-7 last Thursday and then split a four-game series against Illinois Springfield. DU sits at 6-10 overall and is headed to Florida this week for six games before conference play begins at home on March 20 against Roosevelt.
DU broke a 7-7 tie with five runs in the top of the ninth on Thursday against UMSL. Five errors hurt the Tritons, and they gave up five unearned runs. Carson Anthes made his debut on the mound for the Panthers in the start and lasted four innings. Gabe Helder gave 2 2/3 relief innings and allowed one hit with three strikeouts. Justin Johnson and Dylan Pawenski both homered as Johnson and Pawenski each drove in two runs.
The Panthers took game one on Saturday, 10-8, at UIS. They rallied down 8-5 in the seven-inning game with two runs in the sixth and three more runs in the seventh. Carson Lindau hit his first career home run in the third inning. Johnson homered in the third and again in the seventh with the go-ahead, three-run blast. He finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a career-high five RBI. Cody Hultink had a double among his two hits with two runs scored and two RBI. Jaden Alberson got his first win on the hill, going the final 2 1/3 innings.
Davenport completed the sweep on Saturday with an 18-8 win in a mercy-rule, shortened eight innings. Johnson homered twice again and drove in three runs. Pawenski also homered twice with three RBI and four runs scored. Travis Liford drove in a career-high four RBI, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run. Colton Blankstrom got the start and lasted five innings for the win (1-0). He allowed three runs with three walks and four strikeouts.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The offense was hitting on all cylinders with 60 runs on 62 hits in the five games last week. The Panthers launched 13 home runs and collected 14 doubles. The team batted .333 against two quality opponents. The Panthers lead the GLIAC with 35 doubles and 18 home runs. They are also second in on-base percentage (.425) and runs scored (141). Johnson and Pawenski are tied for the league lead with six home runs. They also both lead the team this season with 21 RBI.
SERIES HISTORY
Davenport is playing St. Cloud State for the first time on Wednesday and Northern State for the first time on Thursday.
The Panthers have faced Tampa three times and dropped all three games. The first meeting was a 2-1 loss on Feb. 27, 2023. The teams played a doubleheader on March 1 last year, with Tampa winning 1-0 and 5-0.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
St. Cloud State has a record of 8-9 this season and is 5-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. They beat Wayne State (Neb.) twice and Northern State three times. They are winding down their RussMatt Invitational schedule and have one win thus far, back on Mar. 4 against Saginaw Valley State (9-3). Ryan Cahoon leads the team with a .378 batting average and 1.051 OPS. Liam Moreno is hitting .365 this season with 12 runs scored and 12 RBI. The pitching staff has an ERA of 5.12 with 152 strikeouts in 146 innings. Kahler Key has a 2.91 ERA and 2-1 record in five appearances covering 21 2/3 innings with 27 strikeouts.
Northern State currently sits at 2-6 overall and 1-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. They got their second win of the season on Monday, Mar. 9, with a 20-13 victory over Bemidji State. The Wolves scored in each of the last six innings of the seven-inning game, including seven runs in the top of the seventh. Drew Benson drove home four runs with a triple and a sacrifice fly. Casey Vining drew three walks and collected two hits. Dillon Castellanos hit a home run and a double to finish 3-for-4 with five RBI. Vining leads the team with a .467 batting average (7-15). Benson is the leading run producer with nine RBI. The pitching staff has an ERA of 9.60 in 60 innings of work.
Tampa checks in at No. 3 in the ABCA Division II national poll this week and is a premier program in the country. They have a record of 16-3 and are unblemished at 6-0 in the Sunshine State Conference. The Spartans have a stellar pitching staff, which ranks fourth in Division II with a 3.05 ERA. UT is also stout in the field ranking No. 14 in fielding percentage (.978). They will also make you put the ball in play, ranking third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.23). Robert Satin, the junior hurler, has been fantastic this season. He has a 0.28 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 32.1 innings with a 5-0 record. He has fanned 45 batters and walked just three. Jhoander Irigoyen and Jake Brooks lead the Spartans with four home runs, while Irigoyen leads the team with 24 RBI. Tampa bats .324 as a team with a .500 slugging percentage.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Mar. 11 vs. St. Cloud State - 1:30 PM - Winter Haven, Fla. (No live coverage)
Thursday, Mar. 12 vs. Northern State - 6:00 PM - Davenport, Fla. (Live Stats)
Friday, Mar. 13 at Tampa - 6:00 PM - Tampa, Fla. (Live Video - Live Stats)
Saturday, Mar. 14 at Tampa - 1:00 PM DH - Tampa, Fla. (G1 Live Video - Live Stats; G2 Live Video - Live Stats)
Sunday, Mar. 15 at Tampa - 11:00 AM - Tampa, Fla. (Live Video - Live Stats)
