UTICA, Mich. — Davenport baseball (28-24) secured a decisive 7-1 victory over Parkside (25-24) on Friday at UWM Field in the GLIAC Tournament. Davenport's offense delivered 12 hits, including two home runs, to complement a strong pitching performance by left-hander
Easton Remick who limited UWP to one run with 10 strikeouts. This victory extends the Panthers' streak to six consecutive wins in GLIAC Tournament games.
In the opening inning,
Justin Johnson reached third base on consecutive wild pitches after a walk, setting up
Aiden Warn's sacrifice fly that brought Johnson home for an early 1-0 lead.
The second inning saw
Travis Liford score on
Julian Contreras's double down the left-field line with two outs, increasing Davenport's lead to 2-0.
Johnson continued his impact in the third inning by hitting his 10th home run of the season, a solo shot to center field, extending the lead to 3-0.
UWP managed to put a run on the board in the sixth inning with a solo homer by Josh Wicker. Davenport quickly responded, as
Wyatt Epple doubled to drive in Liford, making it 4-1.
Davenport broke the game open in the eighth inning.
Ben Korson led off with his fourth home run of the season, a solo blast to center. Liford, after being hit by a pitch, scored on Epple's single.
Cody Hultink's sacrifice fly to the deep right field corner allowed another run to cross the plate, concluding the scoring at 7-1.
Davenport's pitching was effective throughout, with Remick striking out a season-high 10 batters (most by a Panther this season) over 7 1/3 innings. He demonstrated control with 76 strikes out of 118 pitches and issued just two walks, ultimately securing his fifth win of the season.
Brayden Flanders provided relief, pitching 1 2/3 innings with one walk and throwing 13 strikes out of 24 pitches to close out the game.
Johnson contributed significantly to the game with two hits and scored two runs. Liford displayed speed and awareness, scoring three runs and stealing one base. Epple went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in.
Looking ahead, DU will face No. 7 nationally and top-seed Grand Valley State at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 9 in Utica, Michigan in a game between 2-0 teams in the tournament.
