TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Senior Evan Marquardt saved his best performance for what will likely be his final appearance on a collegiate mound. Marquardt struck out 18 Northwood batters on Thursday night in a 6-3 win in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament. He set the school record for strikeouts in a game previously held by Grant Wolfram. Wolfram struck out 13 Ashland batters back on Apr. 27 of last season. In addition, he had the second-highest strikeout total by a pitcher in NCAA Division II this season. The Panthers snapped Northwood's eight-game GLIAC Tournament win streak as the Timberwolves won the last two tournaments.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Davenport and Northwood each scored a run in the first inning. Jacob Buchberger singled to right center to start the game and with two outs, a RBI single by Travis Harvey through the right side made it 1-0 off starter Max Bain for Northwood. Marquardt gave up a single by David Vinsky on the third pitch and then Cole Brooks singled up the middle as Vinsky went to third and Brooks took second on the throw to third. Nick Palmer grounded out to second and Vinsky scored the Timberwolves' first run. 

Davenport's big inning was in the third when they scored three runs to take a 4-1 lead. Buchberger was hit by a pitch and then Nolan Bryant doubled to left center. Noah Marcoux grounded out to shortstop on a nice play by Kyle Ziegler. Buchberger scored the second run of the game for DU and Bryant had to stay at second. Harvey went the other way with a single to left and Bryant moved to third. Alex Huard had an infield RBI single to second and Bryant scored for a 3-1 lead. Harvey then scored on a wild pitch for a 4-1 lead.

The Panthers took a 5-1 lead with a run in the fourth. Jimmy Filipski singled to left and advanced to second on a grounder. Buchberger brought him home with a single up the middle. Northwood got one run back in their half of the fourth but it could have been more if not for a fine defensive play down the left field line by Filipski. Marquardt bobbled a grounder to allow the second run of the game to score for Northwood. Brooks Ullery got down 0-2 in the count and hit one down the left field line when Filipski slid to make a huge catch and preserve a three-run lead.

Davenport got a run back in the sixth for a 6-2 lead. Filipski doubled to right center to lead off just beating the throw to the bag. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and Buchberger got a RBI single up the middle against new pitcher Peter Joseph. The Timberwolves scored their final run in the eighth. Palmer walked with two outs and Ziegler singled to left center as Palmer moved to third. Marquardt uncorked a wild pitch as Palmer scored. Trevor Polewka drew a four-pitch walk and the tying run came to the plate. Ullery struck out swinging on three pitches to maintain a comforable lead.

Marquardt finished his complete game in the ninth. He got a strikeout looking followed by a single by Michael Karam. Vinsky lined out to right and Colin McClelland struck out looking to end the game. 

GAME NOTES
Marquardt improved to 9-1 on the season and tossed a season-high 144 pitches (96 strikes). He struck out every batter in the starting lineup at least once and fanned McClelland and Brooks three times. Bain took the loss (7-3) for Northwood going 5.1 innings and allowing eight hits with five earned runs. He also walked three and struck out two. Bain tossed a complete-game shutout in seven innings the last time he faced the Panthers. Joseph, Zac Sharp and Logan Lee combined to throw three shutout innings out of the bullpen. Buchberger reached base five times going 3-for-3 with three singles and also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. He scored twice and drove in two runs. He is hitting .435 this season which is second highest in a season at Davenport. Harvey went 3-for-5 at the plate and stole a base. Filipski went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

ON DECK
The Panthers (31-16) have won eight in a row and will now face two-seed Wayne State (34-13) in their next game of the GLIAC Tournament. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday at Wuerfel Park in Traverse City, Michigan.