GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport baseball team is searching for a winning formula after a 3-8 start to the season. The competition has been top-notch and the team has played six, one-run games this season with a record of 1-5. If those go the way of DU, the season has a much different look. The Panthers took the first game of the four-game series at Quincy, but dropped the next three against the Hawks last weekend. Dylan Pawenski was named the GLIAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career. He finished a four-game series at Quincy by hitting .538 (7-of-13) with three home runs, four runs scored, and 11 RBI. He tied for second in DU history with seven RBI in Saturday's 19-9 win in Game 1. He belted two home runs going 4-of-6 with three runs scored. He also homered on Sunday in Game 2 and drove in three runs as DU fell in 10 innings, 9-8. The toughest loss came in the final game of the series on Sunday. DU held an 8-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh before the Hawks rallied for six straight runs, including a walk-off 10th inning single.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Panthers are currently hitting .320 as a team which is second in the GLIAC. They are also first in doubles per game (2.27) and second in hit by pitch (21) and hits (121). The pitching will need to improve if the team has hopes of turning things around. The staff ERA is 8.34 which is sixth in the GLIAC and ranks 195th out of 249 teams in Division II.

Aiden Warn has been a pleasant addition to the lineup and leads the conference with 12 walks. Justin Johnson has been on a tear with a .467 batting average which is third in the league and 44th in Division II. Johnson leads with six doubles and is second with 1.91 hits per game. Sean Knorr is currently third in the GLIAC in strikeouts per nine innings (10.66). Jimmy Amptmann has been solid in relief going six innings with no earned runs and seven strikeouts this season.

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport is 1-2 against Missouri-St. Louis and split a doubleheader last season. The other game occurred on Feb. 27, 2020 in St. Louis with the Tritons winning 8-7. Last season, DU won 10-4 in game one and fell 2-1 in the nightcap. Pawenski homered in game one during the seventh inning, a two-run shot, which gave DU a 7-3 lead. Johnson went 2-for-3 with two walks and two RBI. Cody Hultink scored twice and stole two bases.

The Panthers have a 3-2 edge in the all-time series against Illinois-Springfield. The Prairie Stars visited DU on Apr. 29 last season with the Panthers winning 10-9. UIS led 5-1 into the bottom of the fifth when DU scored three times to narrow the gap to 5-4. UIS scored three times in the top of the sixth, but Davenport answered with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 8-8. The Prairie Stars took a lead in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly, but DU had the final answer in the bottom of the ninth. Johnson homered to tie the game and Garrett Swan had a walk-off single to score Hultink. Sam Clay went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a triple. Johnson finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Swan drove in three runs going 2-for-2 off the bench.

The teams also played four times during the 2024 season in Springfield. They split the series with DU winning 9-5 and 18-8. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
UMSL is currently 4-8 overall and played UIS in a non-conference, three-game set on Feb. 20-21. The Prairie Stars took two of three, but the Tritons won 7-6 in 10 innings in game two on Feb. 20. UIS scored twice in the top of the ninth to force extra innings. They took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 10th, but UMSL responded with two runs including the walk-off single by Brandon Johnson, the ninth hitter in the lineup. Justin Terhaar drove in three runs to lead the team. Eli Cartwright got the start and tossed six innings. He allowed one earned run on six hits with a walk and strikeout. Dustin Hagens got the win with three relief innings and struck out four.

Illinois-Springfield is currently 9-4 overall and ranked No. 30 in the ABCA Poll. They opened the season with five straight wins including three against Savannah State and two against Florida Southern. The Prairie Stars are fresh off three games last weekend at the Atlantic Region Crossover. They beat Lake Erie 5-2 on Feb. 27 and Walsh 11-6 on Feb. 28. They lost 10-9 against Salem on Mar. 1. Tommy Atkinson is leading the offense with a .431 batting average (22-51) and has scored 16 runs, while leading the team with 23 RBI. Kody Morton is hitting .391 (18-46) with 10 runs scored and nine walks. Ben Benoit is 4-0 on the mound with a 2.55 ERA in 24.2 innings. He has walked just five with 24 strikeouts. UIS has a staff ERA of 5.06 this season.

SCHEDULE (TIMES ARE EASTERN)
Thursday, Mar. 5 vs. Missouri-St. Louis (Edwardsville, Ill.) - 3:00 PM (Live Video - Live Stats)
Friday, Mar. 6 at Illinois-Springfield (Springfield, Ill.) - 2:00 PM (Live Video - Live Stats)
Saturday, Mar. 7 at Illinois-Springfield (Springfield, Ill.) - 1:00 PM Doubleheader (Live Video Game 1, Game 2 - Live Stats)
Sunday, Mar. 8 at Illinois-Springfield (Springfield, Ill.) - 1:00 PM (Live Video - Live Stats)

All video is through the GLVC Network and a separate fee from FloCollege.