ALLENDALE, Mich. — Davenport baseball (21-23, 11-8 GLIAC) faced off against No. 7 Grand Valley State (36-8, 15-4 GLIAC) in a doubleheader on Saturday at GVSU Baseball Field, resulting in two losses for the Panthers: a 13–4 defeat in the first game and a closer 4–1 loss in the second.
Game 1 Recap
Davenport struggled early in the first game, with Grand Valley State taking an early lead in the first inning when Evan Morrison tripled and scored on Ryan Stimac's sacrifice fly, giving the Lakers a 1–0 advantage. The score remained 1–0 until the fourth inning when the Lakers exploded for seven runs, highlighted by a home run from Caleb Estrada, extending their lead to 8–0.
Davenport finally got on the board in the sixth inning. Following a single from
Wyatt Epple,
Dylan Pawenski launched a two-run homer to right field, his 10th of the season, cutting the deficit to 8–2. It is the 14th time in a season that a DU player has hit double-digit home runs. However, GVSU responded with five more runs in the bottom half of the inning, capitalizing on several errors, to push their lead to 13–2. Davenport managed to score two unearned runs in the seventh inning, but it wasn't enough to change the outcome, leading to a final score of 13–4 in favor of the Lakers.
Easton Remick pitched 5 2/3 innings for Davenport, allowing nine hits and six earned runs while striking out four batters.
Braden LaRusso came in for relief, giving up two hits and two runs in 1/3 of an inning.
Carson Lindau contributed with a double and a run scored.
Aiden Warn reached base three times with a single and two walks. DU had just four hits against Owen Avery (3) and Edward Konow (1). Avery got the win moving to 7-1 on the season.
Game 2 Recap
In the second game, Davenport took an early lead with a run in the second inning. Warn's single to center field set up a scoring opportunity as he advanced to third base after a single by
Aidan Arbaugh and a walk to
Cam Johnson.
Julian Contreras grounded out to first base, allowing Warn to score and give Davenport a 1–0 lead.
The Lakers responded quickly, with Caleb Estrada tying the game in the third inning by bringing in Ryan Stimac on a RBI single. The Lakers then took control in the fourth inning, scoring three runs, including a two-run single from Stimac, to make the score 4–1. Despite holding Grand Valley State scoreless over the final five innings, Davenport could not overcome the deficit.
Colton Blankstrom pitched five innings for the Panthers, allowing seven hits and four runs (three earned), striking out three batters.
Brandon Skorupski provided solid relief, pitching three innings without allowing any runs. Warn led the offense with one hit and one run scored, while Contreras added another hit and an RBI. No Panther had multiple hits in either game of the doubleheader. Jackson Kees went seven innings to improve to 8-1 on the mound and struck out six for the Lakers. Zach Warren picked up his second save, tossing the final two innings.
In their next game, Davenport will face the Lakers at noon on Sunday in Allendale, Michigan.
