Chapman has to settle for third place at finals

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -  The Chapman University baseball season came to an end with an 11-7 defeat at the hands of the College of Wooster (Ohio) at the NCAA Division III championships at Fox Cities Stadium on Monday. The Panthers earned third place at the finals for the second time in the past four years. Meanwhile, Wooster remained unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament and needs just one win to capture the national title.

Chapman has three third place finishes (2000, 2006, 2009) and one national championship (2003) this decade. The Panthers were faced with a difficult task after losing the tournament opener to St. Thomas (Minn.) on Friday and having to battle back through the loser's bracket. Chapman earned victories over Farmingdale State (N.Y.) and Kean (N.J.) on Saturday and Sunday, but the road came to an end on Monday.

St. Thomas advanced to the championship round with a 3-1 win over Carthage (Wis.) and will face Wooster for the title.

Things got out of hand early for Chapman (32-17) as the Scots scored three times in the opening inning - two unearned - to take an early 3-0 lead.

The Panthers rallied for two of their own in the first thanks to RBI singles from sophomore OF John Semel and senior IF Tristan Phillips. But that was as close as Chapman would get.

Wooster (43-9) scored four runs in the second and three more in the third and led 11-4 after four innings to take a commanding lead. Chapman, which entered the championship tournament ranked No. 2 in the nation in fielding percentage, committed one error in each of the first four innings and tied a season-high with four errors in the game, leading to three unearned runs.

Trailing by the same 11-4 score in the ninth, Chapman collected four consecutive singles with one out and scored three runs to shave the winning margin to four. Junior IF Halston Barcelo singled and scored in the inning and finished the game 4-for-5 with a double. Junior C Joe Lehman also had an RBI single in the ninth and finished 2-for-4 on the day.

Chapman actually out-hit the Scots 14-12 in the game. Senior RHP Matt Irsfeld settled into a groove in relief, retiring 11 of the last 12 batters he faced. In fact, Panthers' relievers allowed just three hits from the fourth inning on.

Semel also swiped his 24th base of the season, stealing third in the first inning. That steal set a new Chapman record for single-season steals, breaking Alex Taylor's record set in 2002.

The Panthers had entered the postseason unranked and seeded No. 5 in the West Region playoffs. Chapman went 4-1 in the regionals and advanced to the finals in Appleton, Wisconsin for the fifth straight year.

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