GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – It was a busy Friday afternoon for Brendan Bender. The senior left-hander had three hits including a big two-run shot and tossed five solid innings on the mound in game one to help the No. 8 Davenport baseball team sweep a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference doubleheader over Concordia 13-3, 3-1 at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex.
 
Jordan Zylstra had a productive day at the plate, going 5-for-7 with a double, a triple and three RBI.
 
Game 1 – Davenport 13, Concordia 3 (6 innings)
Leading 3-1 in the fifth inning, Davenport (18-2, 4-0 WHAC) did most of the damage in the inning. Dre Celestijn led off with a walk and Bender took a pitch towards the hill in right field for a two-run shot. Matt Priebe and Ryan Manning both got on base with back-to-back singles and Jordan Zylstra sent both of them home with a triple to right center. The Panthers would take advantage of two errors to score three more runs and take an 11-1 lead.
 
Davenport would set up the mercy rule in the sixth inning. Zylstra would single through the left side and Cable would draw a walk to set up a two-run double by Nolan Wilson.
 
Bender (2-0) conceded an unearned run, three hits and a walk while striking out four. Brandon MacKinnon went the rest of the way allowing two runs on two hits and a walk.
 
Game 2 – Davenport 3, Concordia 1
The Cardinals (6-16, 1-3 WHAC) struck first without having to record a hit on starter Corey Sessions (3-0). A leadoff walk and a throwing error allowed Concordia to take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Panthers comeback was in the third inning. Zac Wilson led off with a single and a failed pickoff attempt moved the outfielder to third base. Connor Seymour followed with a walk and Cam Cooper's squeeze play brought in the tying run. Celestijn won a free pass to first and back-to-back singles by Bender and Priebe gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead.
 
Sessions threw four innings on the mound allowing three hits and two walks while striking out three. Alex Schuiling and Jonathan Cheshire combined for three shutout innings the rest of the way.
 
The two teams return to the diamond Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Baseball Contact: Rick Hoskin | 616-871-6180 | rhoskin@davenport.edu
DU Athletics: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
Baseball: Twitter | Facebook