SANDUSKY, Ohio – The Panthers were stumped in game one, falling by a score of 3-2. Davenport bounced back in game two, taking a 6-5 win and splitting the doubleheader. The regular-season series belongs to DU, who won three of the four games. The games were played at the Sports Force Parks, which is where the GLIAC Tournament will take place this season.
 
Game 1-Friday, April 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Final Score: Davenport University-2 | Ashland-3
Location: Sandusky, Ohio
Records: DU (28-18, 20-9) | AU (32-19)
 
Inside The Box
Lauren French (1-1, R, BB, 2 SB, HBP)
Abby Merice (1-2, 2 RBI, 2B)
Kennedy Crawford (0-0, R, BB, 2 SB, HBP)
Mallory Teunissen (L, 16-6) 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO
 
Game one had little offense, with Davenport recording two hits and Ashland recording four. The Panthers two runs came in the third inning. Merice doubled down the left field line, scoring French and Crawford. The Eagles scored a pair in the bottom of the fifth and a single run in the sixth. The Panthers were shut out in the final couple innings, as their bats just couldn't get going.
 
Game 2-Friday, April 26 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Final Score: Davenport University-6 | Ashland-5
Location: Sandusky, Ohio
Records: DU (29-18, 21-9) | AU (32-20)
 
Inside The Box
French (2-3, R, 3B, SH, SB)
Crawford (1-4, R)
Merice (1-4, R, RBI)
Rachel Griffin (2-4, R, 2B)
Mariah Cura (2-4, RBI)
Gabby Palazzolo (1-3, R, BB)
Alexa Flores (2-4, R, RBI, 2B)
Taylor Simon (W, 5-3) 4 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, SO
Teunissen (S, 1) 3 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 0 SO
 
Davenport got on the board first. The Panthers scored a pair in the top of the third inning. Merice singled to left center, scoring French. Later, Cura singled to right field and Merice advanced to third, she then scored on a fielding error by the catcher. The Eagles responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning and DU trailed by two runs. Davenport scored three in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Palazzolo singled to left field and Griffin scored on a fielding error by left field. Then, Flores doubled down the left field line and Palazzolo scored. Finally, Koza reached on an error and Flores scored. The Panthers added a security run in the sixth as Crawford scored off an RBI single by Cura. The run was big as it proved to be the game-winning run in the end. Ashland scored a single run in the bottom of the seventh, but Teunissen held onto the lead and DU took the 6-5 victory.
 
Up Next
The Panthers are closing out the regular season on Saturday (April 27) with a doubleheader at Wayne State.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Walter Cronk