Hillsdale Rematch and Parkside on the Docket for Davenport baseball

4/7/2026 10:07:00 AM

By: Ryan Thompson, Assistant AD for Communications

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers are looking to build some momentum after back-to-back, four-game series splits against Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State have put them at 16-19 overall and 8-4 in the GLIAC. The Panthers are currently in second place behind Grand Valley State who has played four fewer games at 6-2. Davenport will be facing Hillsdale on Wednesday at home and then will travel to Parkside this weekend for four games against the Rangers, who are 15-14 overall and 3-5 in league action.

Last week began with a Wednesday road game at Hillsdale with DU falling 13-9 to the Chargers. Hillsdale used two big innings with five runs in the second and fifth to propel them to victory and end a modest two-game win streak by Davenport in the series. DU went ahead 4-0 early as Aiden Warn had a two-RBI single in the first and the Panthers tacked on two more runs in the second. HC responded with five runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-4 lead. The five-run fifth for the Chargers put them ahead 11-5, before Davenport scored four times in the seventh and eighth to make it 11-9. Hillsdale added insurance runs in the eighth themselves for the 13-9 final.

The Saginaw Valley State series began with two games on Friday in University Center and then weather forced the final two games to be moved to Caledonia on Monday. DU won the first game of both doubleheaders before the Cardinals took the nightcap. Sean Knorr got the win in game one on Friday going 6 2/3 innings and allowing four earned runs with two walks and five strikeouts. Brayden Flanders got the final out of the game on a flyout to earn his first save of the season. Dylan Pawenski homered and drove in three runs. Sam Clay doubled and scored a run with a walk.

Davenport also won 7-3 in game one on Monday behind a strong pitching performance by Easton Remick. He earned his third win of the season by going 5 2/3 innings and allowing just four hits and two earned runs with three walks and five strikeouts. Brandon Skorupski got his second save of the season, recording the final two outs. Clay and Pawenski both had a double and Pawenski hit a home run. He drove in three runs and went 3-for-5 with a run scored. Clay was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Justin Johnson went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

DU fell 8-7 in 10 innings in game two on Monday after taking a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the 10th. Wyatt Epple had an infield single with two outs to score Travis Liford with the go-ahead run. The Panthers would leave the bases loaded, which would prove costly as the Cardinals scored twice in the bottom of the 10th. Gabe Helder could not record the save as he yielded a hit by pitch and a walk between two infield singles to tie the game. Jacob Pitt delivered the walk-off single with one out for SVSU. Pawenski once again drove in three runs on a triple in the eighth inning with DU trailing 5-1. Liford walked twice and had a RBI single in the eighth to tie the game. Clay finished 3-for-5 with a walk and run scored. Lucas Coll had a stellar relief appearance going three innings and allowed just one hit and no runs with three strikeouts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Carson Lindau led the team last week with a .444 batting average going 4-for-9 with a run, double, and two RBIs. Clay had himself a productive five games batting .429 (9-for-21) with a team-leading eight runs scored and three doubles. He walked five times and stole a pair of bases. Aidan Arbaugh hit a homer amongst his three hits last week going 3-for-7 with three RBIs. Pawenski drove in nine runs, by far the best run producer, this week. DU hit .282 as a team and opponents hit .314. The team's earned-run average was 7.32 last week with 26 strikeouts and 30 walks.

SERIES HISTORY
Hillsdale's win last week gave them their fifth in the all-time series, still controlled by Davenport at 11-5 overall. Davenport is 5-0 at home against the Chargers, including a 10-3 win last year on April 22. The Panthers are averaging 10.4 runs per game in the all-time series.

It has been a one-sided series against Parkside with DU winning 27 of the 30 games. The Panthers have won five in a row against the Rangers with a four-game sweep at home last season and then a 4-3 win in the GLIAC Tournament on a Coltrane Rubner walk-off single. DU is 11-1 on the road against Parkside.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Hillsdale currently sits at 13-17 overall and 8-8 in the G-MAC. After their win over Davenport, the Chargers dropped three of four against Northwood. The win was in game two at home on Friday by a final score of 7-1. Jacob Pallo got his second win of the season with five solid innings. He allowed four hits and one earned run with three walks and four strikeouts. Rocco Tenuta smacked a pair of doubles going 3-for-4 and scored twice. Gaard Swenson homered as part of a two-hit game and scored twice.

Jake Figman leads the team with a .356 batting average and has driven in 15 runs. Swenson is right behind him at .341 with 22 runs scored, three home runs, and 25 RBIs. Tenuta's 31 RBIs leads the team and he has nine doubles and a team-high five home runs. Patrick MacLean out of the bullpen is sporting a 1.82 ERA in 24.2 innings with two saves and a 2-1 record. The Chargers had a team ERA of 6.70 and opponents are hitting .278 against them this season.

Parkside will be playing on Tuesday against Purdue Northwest in a non-conference game before hosting the Panthers this weekend. The last time out for Parkside was an 11-4 victory over Viterbo on Monday in Kenosha. UWP built a 10-0 lead through six innings en route to the win. Joe Mrowiec homered and drove in three runs. Trace Kirchberg also homered and collected two RBIs. Angel Rades and Carter Storti each recorded a triple and an RBI. Ryan Schissler got the win in relief, throwing one inning.

Benjamin Loyd is leading the team with a .345 batting average and has six doubles, one triple, one home run, and 18 RBIs. Loyd also has stolen 11 bases in 13 attempts. Rades is hitting .333 but has been limited to 15 starts. Mrowiec leads the squad with 25 RBIs and six home runs. The Rangers have a staff ERA of 6.62 this season and have 209 strikeouts. Nathan Ciemny leads the team with three wins in seven starts covering 26 1/3 innings. Brennen Miller has a 4.11 ERA in 30 2/3 innings with 28 strikeouts.

SCHEDULE (Subject to change, all times eastern)
Wednesday, April 8 vs. Hillsdale - 6:00 PM - Live Stats - Live Video
Friday, April 10 at Parkside - 4:00 PM - Live Stats - Live Video
Saturday, April 11 at Parkside - 2:00 PM (DH) - Live Stats - Live Video
Sunday, April 12 at Parkside - 1:00 PM - Live Stats - Live Video

Print Friendly Version