Davenport baseball under the direction of Kevin Tidey in his eighth season (283-114), will look to continue their success. The Panthers finished second in the GLIAC regular season and were runner-up in the GLIAC Tournament in their first year in the conference. This year will provide challenges as the Panthers top four starting pitchers must be replaced. In that group was Grant Wolfram who was drafted by the Texas Rangers. In total, eight all-conference players will need to be replaced as the Panthers open the season on February 15 against Ohio Valley.

 

Davenport is looking for big things from senior Alex Huard who was recently named preseason Second Team All-Midwest Region. Huard will be making the transition from third base to shortstop this season. Huard batted .331 with 60 hits in 181 at-bats to go with eight doubles, three homers and 31 RBI. Junior Jacob Buchberger looks to be an emerging star and will move from first base to third base. Buchberger missed a portion of the season early but rebounded to hit .359 with 33 runs scored, eight doubles, four triples, six home runs and 34 RBI.

 

On the mound, Pete Zeimis returns after posting a 4-2 record with a 3.74 ERA in 45.2 innings. Zeimis had just one start and filled in admirably in middle relief. Evan Maize saw action as a freshman and posted a 4.15 ERA and 3-0 record in 30.1 innings. The Panthers are excited to add Evan Marquardt (Midland, Mich./Dow) who transferred from Ball State. He has one year of eligibility left and returned to school after being selected in the 20th round by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2018 draft.