Baseball loses finals opener, faces elimination Saturday

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -  As hot as the Panthers coming into the NCAA Division III baseball championships on Friday, it didn't take long for St. Thomas University (Minn.) to cool them down. The Tommies, ranked No. 18 in Division III, scored first and cruised to a 9-1 over Chapman University at Time Warner Field at Fox Cities Stadium in the first round of the finals.

The loss sends Chapman (30-16) to the loser's bracket where it will face Farmingdale State College (N.Y.) on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. (CST).

The Panthers never really threatened. Already trailing 3-0 in the third inning, Chapman loaded the bases with two outs, but senior IF Patrick Ohail popped out to end the rally. St. Thomas (37-12) then scored five times in the fifth inning to pad its lead to 8-0.

Chapman was held hitless from the fourth through the seventh innings until sophomore OF John Semel hit his team-leading 12th home run of the season to put the Panthers on the board and break up the shutout attempt by St. Thomas' RHP Matt Schuld. Semel finished 2-for-3 in the game.

Schuld scattered just five hits and struck out seven Panthers for the victory. Chapman sophomore RHP Jordan Sigman (9-4) suffered just his fourth loss of the season, surrendering eight earned runs and 10 hits in five innings.

The Panthers entered the game having won 9 of 11 games and averaging close to nine runs per game. Chapman is 1-3 in its past four games, when facing elimination. The win came last Sunday in the West Region championship game.

Box score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2008-09/stats/cu-ust.htm