Chapman draws No. 2 seed at regionals; headed back to Abilene

ORANGE, Calif. – For the ninth year in a row, the Chapman University baseball team is headed to the NCAA postseason. The Panthers have earned an at-large Pool 'B' selection into the NCAA Division III baseball championships and will travel to Abilene, Texas this week as the No. 2 seed in the first round regional tournament.

Chapman will face No. 5 seed Texas-Tyler on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. (CDT) when the double-elimination tournament begins. All games will take place at Walt Driggers Field on the campus of McMurry University.

For the first time in five years the Panthers enter the postseason without a regional title to defend. That belongs to Linfield College (Ore.) which earned the No. 1 seed for this weekend's tournament. Rounding out the rest of the six-team field is: No. 3 University of Redlands, No. 4 Trinity University (Texas) and No. 6 Concordia-Austin (Texas). Chapman had won five straight regional championships from 2005-09 before Linfield claimed the crown last season.

The West Regional bracket boasts five of the top-19 teams in the nation, according to D3Baseball.com: No. 5 Linfield (31-9), No. 11 Texas-Tyler (33-6), No. 12 Chapman (29-11), No. 17 Trinity (33-11) and No. 19 Redlands (29-11).

Chapman reached the NCAA playoffs on the strength of its pitching staff, which ranks among the top-15 in the nation in earned run average (2.72), strikeouts per nine innings (8.5) and hits allowed per nine innings (7.5). The Panthers are led by reigning NCBWA Division III Pitcher of the Year, sophomore RHP Brian Rauh who is 10-0 with a 1.88 ERA and leads all of Division III with 124 strikeouts. Additionally, senior RHP Jordan Sigman is 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA in 12 starts this season.

Offensively, six Chapman starters are batting over .300, led by freshman OF Adam Velez (.333). Junior IF Tyler Hadzinsky (.326, 23 RBI, 10 SB) and senior C Adam Kordich (.307, 4 HR, 32 RBI) have been at the heart of the Panthers' production. Chapman is batting .291 as a team and averaging nearly 6.5 runs per game.

If the Panthers have a home away from home it's been Abilene, where Chapman won the West Region title in 2008 and is 12-1 since 2007. In fact, Chapman has 11 straight wins at Driggers Field, including a three-game sweep of McMurry earlier this season.

Chapman has reached the postseason in all nine seasons under head coach Tom Tereschuk, including six regional titles and one national championship (2003).

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

NCAA Division III West Region Championships
Schedule of Games

Wednesday, May 18
Game 1: #6 Concordia-Texas (30-15) vs. #1 Linfield (31-9), Noon
Game 2: #5 Texas-Tyler (33-6) vs. #2 Chapman (29-11), 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: #4 Trinity (33-11) vs. #3 Redlands (29-11), 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 19
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, Noon
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 3, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 7 p.m.

If Four Teams Remain After Game 6:
Friday, May 20
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, noon
Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 6, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 21
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9, Noon
Game 11 if necessary, 4 p.m.

If five teams remain after Game 6:
Friday, May 20
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5
Game 9: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7

If two teams after Game 9:
Saturday, May 21
Game 10: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9, Noon
Game 11 if necessary

If three teams remain after Game 9:
Saturday, May 21
Game 10: Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser of Game 8, Noon
Game 11: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 4 p.m.