Baseball drops both games of doubleheader

REDLANDS, Calif. – Runs lit up the scoreboard as the Chapman University baseball team fell in both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday, 8-7 and 19-12. The first game went to extra innings before it was decided in the tenth.

Senior Henry Zeisler led the Panthers at the plate, going 4-for-7 with a home run in each game. He also had a double in each game as all four of his hits went for extra bases. He drove in four and scored four times. Graduate transfer Nick Kondo also had a four-hit day.

The Panthers built a 5-1 lead in game one but the Bulldogs used a walk, hit by pitch and three singles to tie the game at 5-5 in the fifth. Zeisler's first homer put the Panthers back on top in the top half of the sixth and sophomore Grant Manning kept the Panthers on top with three strong innings out of the bullpen.

Manning pitched three scoreless innings and did not allow a hit while striking out one. He faced the minimum through three innings after ending the sixth on a double play.

Warner Rhodes came in to pitch the ninth but a walk, hit by pitch and back-to-back singles tied the game at 7-7 before Wyatt Thompson came in out of the bullpen and struck out the next batter to send the game to extras. Redlands kept going in the 10th with two more singles to walk off with the victory.

The second game immediately saw fireworks as Redlands built a 4-0 lead in the first and added on a run in the second. Chapman climbed back in the game with three runs in the third but Redlands matched the Panthers with three runs of their own.

The scoreboard lit up in the fifth as Chapman plated nine runs to take a 12-8 lead, Brad Shimabuku singled in the tying run and Kondo sprinted home for the lead after a double steal and a wild throw into left. Again, the Bulldogs had an answer with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to retake the 13-12 lead.

The Bulldogs continued tacking on in the seventh and eighth to take the game and the series. The losses gave Chapman its first series loss of the season.

The regular season wraps up next week with Chapman and Cal Lutheran meeting for another three-game series. The Panthers host the final two games of the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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