ALLENDALE, Mich. — Davenport baseball (30-26) edged out Missouri University of Science and Technology (34-19) with a narrow 7–6 victory on Thursday at GVSU Baseball Field in the opening game of the NCAA Midwest Regional. A pivotal seven-run fourth inning allowed Davenport to overcome the Miners' early lead, securing the win in this tightly contested game. With this victory, Davenport picks up their sixth regional win all-time and improves to 5-0 against Missouri S&T. This was the first postseason meeting between the teams.
Missouri S&T took an early lead in the second inning, scoring three runs. Aiden Cizek's walk and subsequent advance on an error set the stage for Will Beckham's RBI double down the left field line. Keaton Scott and Will Muench followed with hits, adding two more runs.
DU responded decisively in the fourth, capitalizing on costly errors and timely hitting to score seven runs.
Aiden Warn and
Ben Korson started with singles, and
Travis Liford's single brought in the first run.
Wyatt Epple's sacrifice fly, a fly-ball to left which was dropped, allowed two more runs to score.
Carson Lindau added an RBI double to right field, and later,
Justin Johnson's two-RBI single up the middle after fouling off a few pitches on a 3-2 count capped the scoring spree. Davenport surged ahead 7–3 after four innings, but only one of those seven runs were earned.
The Miners chipped away at the lead in the eighth inning when Garrett Meyer scored on a groundout, narrowing the gap to 7–4, against
Brandon Skorupski.
In a tense ninth inning, the Miners added two runs via a sequence of singles and a hit-by-pitch, but Davenport managed to hold on, securing a 7–6 win in a closely contested finish. Davenport needed to use three pitchers in the inning to seal the win. The Miners loaded the bases with two outs with Will Muench at the plate.
Lucas Coll, who hit a batter to force in the sixth run, got a chopper grounder to Liford at third base and his throw to first just beat the runner to end the game in dramatic fashion.
Easton Remick (6-4) led the pitching effort for Davenport, throwing for 7 1/3 innings with six strikeouts while allowing four earned runs on 10 hits. He issued three walks and threw a season-high total of 133 pitches, 80 of which were strikes. Skorupski and
Brayden Flanders came in for relief, with Skorupski facing challenges by issuing one walk and hitting a batter in just 1/3 inning. Flanders threw one inning and allowed two hits and two runs.
Lucas Coll secured the save, his second of the season, pitching 1/3 of an inning.
Johnson was the only Panther to record two hits and drove in two runs, including a double.
Carson Lindau added to the scoring with a hit, a double, and an RBI, while also drawing a walk.
The Panthers will play tomorrow at 2 PM against the winner of Grand Valley / Ky. Wesleyan. That game is set to begin around 3 PM.
