Winning streak reaches season-high seven games

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman campus may be on spring break, but the Panthers’ offense was hard at work on Tuesday afternoon. The No. 4-ranked Chapman University baseball team flexed its muscles with a 16-7 win over visiting Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at Hart Park, extending its season-high winning streak to seven games.

The Panthers batted around in both the first and second innings and totaled 10 runs after their first two at-bats. Chapman (18-4) had not scored in double figures in its past 11 games after completing the feat in seven of their first 10 games.

Chapman got started right away in the first inning after each of the first four batters reached base and scoring its first run on an RBI single by senior C Joe Lehman. Senior IF Matt Luzar followed with a bases-loaded double that plated three runs and the Panthers added two more in the inning to lead 6-1.

The Panthers scored four more runs in the second inning without the benefit of a hit, capitalizing on six walks from Stags’ pitching.

Leading 10-3 in the fifth, senior OF Ryan Prechtl delivered his first of two home runs on the day, a two-run shot to left that added to the Chapman lead. The Panther leadoff hitter hit a solo homer – his fourth of the season – in his next at-bat and singled in a pair of runs in the eighth to make the score 16-7. Prechtl finished the game 4-for-6 with five RBI and three runs scored.

Although the freshman RHP Travis McGee uncharacteristically gave up 11 hits and five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work, the rookie struck out six batters and earned the victory, improving to 5-1 this season. Sophomore LHP Ben Levitt tossed three shutout innings of relief to pick up his second save of the year.

On a side note: In the seventh inning, brothers Tyler Hadzinsky (Chapman junior IF) and Chad Hadzinsky (Claremont freshman LHP) opposed each other for the first time in their lives (aside from the backyard). After waving and missing at a first-pitch change-up from his younger brother, Tyler knocked a base hit into left to gain temporary bragging rights. The elder Hadzinsky was nearly picked off first base by Chad’s left-handed move thereafter. But the rookie brother got the last laugh as Tyler came to the plate again in the eighth and Chad struck him out.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2009-10/stats/cms-cu.htm