Five-in-a-row: Chapman punches ticket to championships for fifth straight year
MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - "If necessary" turned out to be just what the Panthers needed.
With a 7-4 victory over George Fox University in the second game
of Sunday afternoon's West Region championship at Roy Helser Field,
the Chapman University baseball team clinched its fifth straight
berth to the NCAA Division III Championships.
The team will travel to Appleton, Wisconsin to compete in the
eight-team tournament set to begin Friday at Fox Cities Stadium.
Chapman finished fifth in last year's tournament and will make
their sixth appearance in seven years under head coach Tom
Tereschuk.
Game 1: George Fox 5, Chapman 4 (10 innings)
In a game that saw four lead changes, George Fox (36-11) outlasted
Chapman in extra innings, pushing across the winning run on a
Seth Anderson sacrifice fly for the walk-off
victory. The Bruins' Matt Wyckoff singled to
lead off the inning and scored on the play.
The Panthers battled back from a 4-2 deficit, scoring once in the
seventh on senior IF Patrick Ohail's double.
In the ninth, two errors allowed Chapman to tie the game at four.
Freshman DH Ben Owens singled to begin the inning
and advanced to third on throwing error by the shortstop. Owens
later scored on a two-out fielding error by the third baseman.
Chapman out-hit George Fox 10-9 but stranded 13 for the second
time in as many days. IF Bo Thunnel paced the
Bruins' offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBI.
Panther starter RHP Matt Luzar pitched into the
10th inning, the first time a Panther starter has gone beyond the
distance since 2005. Luzar had retired 11 straight Bruins heading
into the 10th but was saddled with the loss.
George Fox RHP Chad Jones struck out two in three
innings of relief for the win.
Game 2: Chapman 7, George Fox 4
Both teams sent their starters to the mound on short
rest, but it came down to a battle of the bullpens. Chapman (30-15)
plated three runs in the seventh inning via the fourth George Fox
error of the day and a two-out, two-run single by reserve C
Adam Kordich to break a 4-4 tie.
Sophomore OF/P John Semel threw three
innings of relief, facing four batters in the ninth to slam the
door. It was Semel's second win of the year.
An early 3-0 Chapman lead was erased in a sixth inning that saw
starter RHP Jordan Sigman chased from the game.
Sophomore OF Dan Winterstein and IF Pat
Bailey had back-to-back bases loaded singles followed by a
two-run sacrifice fly by DH Todd Siler to give the
Bruins a 4-3 lead.
Chapman responded to tie the game in the sixth against Jones, who
had closed the first game. With runners on the corners, Bailey was
charged with a throwing error attempting to turn an inning-ending
double play; the error allowed IF Tyler Hadzisnky
to score from third.
Freshman LHP Ben Levitt relieved Sigman in the
sixth and lasted only one batter in the seventh before Semel came
in to strikeout OF Kyle Kuenzi and tag out IF
Tyler Hunter at home on a fielder's choice to end
the threat. The momentum carried over as the Panthers scored three
runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead for good.
IF Tristan Phillips, RHP Matt
Irsfeld, Prechtl, and Owens were named to the
All-Tournament team. Hadzinsky was named Tournament MVP, going
11-for-19 (.579) in the tournament.
Chapman will face the University of St. Thomas (36-12) in the
fourth game of the championship tournament on Friday at 7:45 p.m.
CST. It's the first time the two will face each other since the
2000 championships when St. Thomas knocked Chapman out of the
tournament. The Panthers have won 9 of their last 11 games.
Game 1 Box Score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2008-09/stats/cu-gfu.htm
Game 2 Box Score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2008-09/stats/gfu-cu.htm