GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – It was a perfect start to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of the schedule for Davenport baseball as they went 4-0 against Roosevelt last weekend at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex. The series saw a couple of close games and a couple of blowouts in favor of the Panthers.

The Friday opener was a 10-1 victory over the Lakers. DU scored three runs in three different innings and collected 12 hits. Eight of the starting nine recorded a hit, and Travis Liford led the team, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Cam Johnson batting eighth also had a solid effort with two hits and three RBIs. Sam Clay drove in two runs and also had a triple and a sacrifice fly. Sean Knorr got his first win of the season, going six innings of one-run ball with a walk and four strikeouts. Jaden Alberson recorded a three-inning save, allowing one hit.

Saturday's doubleheader was a tale of two games as DU won 8-6 in game one and then an incredible 22-0 in seven innings in game two. Jeff Agar got the start in game one and lasted three innings with two walks and three strikeouts. Brandon Skorupski nailed down his first save of the season, finishing the final inning in order. Justin Johnson drove in three runs and collected two hits. Ben Korson started in right field and hit his first career home run. Clay scored three times and went 2-for-3 at the dish. Wyatt Epple stole three bases and scored a pair of runs.

Roosevelt pitching walked 14 batters and hit five more in game two. They threw a total of 207 pitches by seven different hurlers. Colton Blankstrom cruised to the win on the mound for DU, going all seven innings and allowing five hits with a walk and four punchouts. Garrett Swan came off the bench to homer in the fifth inning and drove in three runs. Aiden Warn went 2-for-3 with a run, two RBIs, and a walk. Clay walked three times and was hit by a pitch. He scored three runs and drove in three runs. Liford also drove in three runs with a double and a sacrifice fly.

Sunday's affair needed extra innings before Davenport got the 7-6 win in 10. The teams traded the lead and were tied at 4-4 after nine innings. Roosevelt would score twice in the top of the 10th inning on a single by Alejandro Munoz. Still, DU had the answer in the bottom half as Cam Johnson had an RBI double and pinch-hitter Carson Lindau singled to left to drive in the winning runs by Johnson and Korson. Jimmy Amptmann got his first win and needed to record just one out. Easton Remick got the start and struck out a season-high six batters in five innings.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
One interesting nugget entering this weekend is the strength of schedule for both of the teams. Davenport's overall record of 12-14 has come against the seventh toughest schedule in Division II (.621 win percentage of opponents), and six of those losses are by one run. Wayne State's overall record of 19-3 has come against the 93rd toughest schedule in Division II (.531 win percentage of opponents).
Davenport put up impressive numbers in the Roosevelt series with a team batting average of .388, collecting 50 hits in 129 at-bats. Liford had a .500 average (7-of-14) with four doubles and six RBIs to lead the team. Cam Johnson batted .500 (8-of-16) with five runs, two doubles, and five RBIs. Clay hit .462 (6-of-13) with six runs, five walks, and five RBIs. The pitching staff had a 2.73 earned-run average over 33 innings and struck out 27 Lakers.

To date, the Panthers are leading the GLIAC offensively in doubles (62), hit by pitch (53), and hits (291). Liford leads the league with 13 doubles. Warn leads with 26 walks. Justin Johnson leads with 11 HBP. Dylan Pawenski leads the GLIAC with a .726 slugging percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport owns a 22-14 lead in the all-time series against Wayne State. The Panthers have won the last four meetings against the Warriors by taking the final three games of the regular-season series in Detroit last April and then winning 7-4 in 11 innings in the GLIAC Tournament championship on May 11 in Lansing. Clay launched a three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th to secure the team's third tournament title in the last five years. DU has a record of 10-6 at home against the Warriors and split four games during the last action at The Farm in 2024.    

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
No. 7 Wayne State (NCBWA Poll) has one of the best pitching staffs in Division II this season. The Warriors rank first in hits allowed per nine innings (6.5) and WHIP (1.11), while they are second in earned-run average (2.79). Will Lowery is currently 5-0 on the hill and is fresh off a nine-inning, no-hitter last Friday against Parkside. He struck out 10 Rangers and walked one in a 119-pitch effort. He has a season ERA of 1.45 to rank 11th in Division II and allows just 4.35 hits per nine innings. Keegan Pulford-Thorpe is 3-0 on the mound in five starts, covering 25.2 innings. He has 24 strikeouts, and opponents are hitting .284 against him. Rocco Cardinale leads the team with three saves in 7.2 innings with a 2.35 ERA.

Drew Hill is pacing the offense with a .397 batting average, collecting 29 hits, including three doubles, two triples, and five home runs. Owen Tuccinardi leads the team with 27 RBIs and six bombs. He is slugging .667, which is currently seventh in the GLIAC. Bennett Hitzelberger is leading the squad with 29 runs scored, which is 10 more than the next closest player in Hill. Hitzelberger has drawn 16 walks and is 7-of-9 in stolen bases. Wayne State has a team batting average of .297 this season and has hit 29 home runs, while only allowing five.

SCHEDULE (Subject to change)
Friday, Mar. 27 - 3:00 PM (Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex)
Saturday, Mar. 28 - 1:00 PM Doubleheader (Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex)
Sunday, Mar. 29 - 12:00 PM (Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex)
Live Stats for all games
Friday Video - Saturday Video - Sunday Video

 

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