Eagles Claim Saturday's Opener, Lead Game 2, 11-7, in Ninth

The Ashland University baseball team needed just one inning, really, to beat Davenport, 4-2, in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Saturday (April 10) morning in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
Play was suspended due to lightning with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in Game 2 with the Eagles leading, 11-7. The Panthers have runners at first and second.

Both teams scored all their Game 1 runs in the first inning and held each other scoreless the rest of the way.
 
Senior Garett Robberts hit a three-run homer after junior Austin Eifrid and junior Alex Whipple reached base to start the game. Later in the inning, junior Logan Stoldt doubled and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Seth Schroeder.
 
The Panthers scored twice in the bottom of the first off right-hander Jacob Harsany, who settled in nicely after that. The junior did not allow another hit until an infield single in the fifth and left the game in the sixth with one on and one out.
 
Junior right-hander Perry Bewley came on in relief and struck out the next two hitters to retire the side. Bewley then induced two groundouts and a strikeout to end the game in the seventh and secure his fourth save of the season.

Harsany (2-0) earned the win and gave up just two runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

James Rogers (4-2) suffered the loss for the hosts, allowing four runs on six hits in five innings.
 
The Eagles had six hits in the game, but also drew six walks while allowing just four hits to Davenport.
 
In Game 2, the Eagles have banged out 16 hits with Schroeder posting a 4-for-4 day with a walk and three runs scored. Eifrid and Robberts have three hits apiece and Whipple is 2-for-6 with a double and a triple.
 
The Eagles turned a 3-0 deficit into a 6-3 lead in the fourth, getting a two-run single from Eifrid, a two-run triple from Whipple and run-scoring base hits from Robberts and senior Carson Mittermaier.

Eifrid's RBI single in the fifth made it 7-3 and three straight RBI hits by Eifrid, Whipple and Robberts in the seventh gave the Eagles a 10-4 advantage.
 
Schroeder had an RBI single in the eighth to make it 11-5 before Davenport scored twice in the eighth to cut the deficit to 11-7.
 
Right-hander Clayton Cochran was working in the ninth inning, but had runners at first and second with two outs before lightning halted the game.
 
Game 2 will restart at noon on Sunday with the regularly-scheduled series finale to follow.