CALEDONIA, Mich. – On Thursday (May 15) at Davenport, the No. RV Ashland University baseball team went 0-2 at the NCAA Division II split Midwest Regional, ending the Eagles' 2025 season.
Ashland (37-19) lost 7-3 to Indianapolis and 7-6 to the No. 8-ranked and host Panthers.
The Greyhounds jumped in front in the opener with a two-out run on a single in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the third, however, senior catcher
Ben Peltz launched his fifth home run of the year on the first pitch – his first homer since March 14.
Ashland was set up with runners on second and third with one out in the fourth, but the Eagles couldn't break the tie. Indy also missed a chance to take the lead in the fifth, after having a runner on third with one down.
A leadoff double from redshirt freshman center fielder
Sean Krueckeberg couldn't result in another AU tally. Following the seventh-inning stretch, an RBI ground-rule double, a run-scoring single, and a two-run hit put the Greyhounds on top again at 5-1.
Two more RBI singles, with two out, put UIndy ahead 7-1 after eight. Ashland made it 7-3 in the ninth on an RBI infield single from Peltz and an error on the same play, but couldn't get any closer.
Senior right-handed pitcher
Cam Scott (5-2) went the first 6 2/3 innings vs. Indianapolis, striking out four and walking none, and giving up seven hits and five runs.
Junior first baseman
Sam Witt extended his hitting streak to seven games with a second-inning single, and finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. Senior third baseman
Jeremiah Cangelosi and Peltz (two RBIs, run scored) each also had two of AU's nine hits.
In the game against the host Panthers, the Eagles loaded the bases after two were out in the top of the first, but no runs came across. Then, in the bottom of the second, Davenport took the lead on an RBI single, a wild pitch, a two-run double and another run-scoring hit – all with two outs.
Another two-run tally, an RBI double, lifted the Panthers to a 6-0 lead after four.
The Eagles put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, then Krueckeberg launched a three-run homer to cut the deficit in half. It was his seventh round-tripper of 2025, and his first since April 4.
AU inched closer in the seventh after graduate designated hitter
Max Caron blasted a two-run shot to make it a 6-5 contest. Caron's third homer of the season was his first since March 14.
With the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, junior left fielder
Billy Howard came through with an RBI fielder's choice to bring the Eagles all the way back at 6-6.
Davenport, however, scored another two-out run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double for the game's final margin.
Graduate lefty
Marshall Leishman (7-5) went the last three innings, striking out four and not walking a batter, and yielding four hits and a run.
Howard and Caron each had two hits, Krueckeberg drove in three runs, Caron had two RBIs, and Witt now has an eight-game hitting streak going into 2026.
