Chapman falls to Cal Lu in Postseason Tournament

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Chapman University baseball team fell 6-5 to Cal Lutheran University on Friday afternoon at Ullman Stadium in game one of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. The Panthers led Cal Lutheran twice in the game, but ultimately fell short recording only six hits while giving up 16.

Trailing 5-3 in the seventh the Kingsmen scored a pair of runs capitalizing on a Chapman error to tie the game up 5-5. The Kingsmen built on their seventh inning moment one inning later when Cal Lutheran's Justin Cana doubled to left center to the score the game-winning run and advance the Kingsmen to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship.  

The Panthers were on the board first when freshman Trevor Willits drove in senior Greg Dillon on a single up the middle to give Chapman a 1-0 lead. However, Cal Lutheran fired right back with two quick runs on four hits to take the lead 2-1 in the first. The Kingsmen added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly to right field by Gabe Gunter to extend their lead to 3-1.

Trailing 3-1 in the fourth, Chapman posted three runs to reclaim the lead 4-3. Chapman scored its three runs on two hits while capitalizing on two Cal Lu errors. The Panthers extended their lead to 5-3 in the fifth with a leadoff double by Dillon who was drove in on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Gavin Blodgett.

Dillon led the Panthers offensively with a pair of hits while scoring a pair of Chapman runs. Freshman Andrew Mendonca led the Panthers with a pair of RBI. Sophomore Kynan Barton suffered his first loss of the season for Chapman after tossing two innings and giving up three hits.

No. 3-seeded Chapman will travel to Occidental on Saturday, May 7 for an 8:30 a.m. game against the loser of No. 4 Redlands and No. 1 Occidental College. No. 2-seeded Cal Lutheran advances to the SCIAC Tournament Championship and will face the winner of Redlands and Occidental at Occidental.

by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant

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