Tereschuk wins Nos. 299, 300 and 301 in tripleheader sweep
ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University baseball team swept what may very well have been the first tripleheader in school history, defeating visiting Wheaton College (Ill.) 12-8, 2-1 and 9-2 on Saturday at Hart Park. The second win of the day gave Panthers' head coach Tom Tereschuk his 300th career head coaching victory – the first Chapman baseball coach in school history to reach that mark.
Weather and a city park closure forced the postponement of Game 1 of the three-game weekend series against the Thunder. And with Wheaton flying back to Illinois on Sunday, the Saturday's tripleheader became a reality. Archives are inconclusive whether this was the first tri-bill in Chapman history.
The three victories extend the Panthers' home winning streak to 13 games and No. 11-ranked Chapman (19-5) is now 18-1 in its past 19 games.
As for Tereschuk, the six-time West Region Coach of the Year reached the milestone 300 wins in just his ninth season at the helm of the Chapman baseball program. He has averaged over 35 wins per season and at 301-95 he has a career winning percentage of .760.
Game 1: Chapman 12, Wheaton 8
An atypical outing by sophomore ace RHP Brian Rauh still produced the same results – a win. Rauh lasted just five innings, matching his shortest start of the year, and allowed eight hits, eight runs (four earned) and four walks. He did however strikeout six and got plenty of run support from his teammates to improve to 6-0 this season.
Chapman scored four times in each of the second and third innings and then added three runs in the fourth to build an 11-6 lead after four. Junior IF Tyler Hadzinsky provided a two-run single in the second and freshman IF Mark Saatzer did the same in the third inning to aid the Chapman offense. The Panthers benefited from three Wheaton errors to score seven unearned runs in the game, but also pounded a season-high 16 hits in the win.
Sophomore IF Tyler Surnbrock legged out a pair of infield singles on his way to a 3-for-4 performance with three runs scored. Junior OF Steve Greenberg drove in three runs for the Panthers as well.
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/boxscores/20110326_ukzi.xml
Game 2: Chapman 2, Wheaton 1 (7 innings)
Sophomore OF James Parr picked the perfect time for his first home run of the season. The Panthers' leadoff man hit a two-run shot to right with no outs in the bottom of the sixth to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead which would prove to be the game-winner. Parr's homer followed a leadoff double by Greenberg – two of just five hits in the game for Chapman.
Besides giving Tereschuk win No. 300, the two-run shot also made a winner out of senior RHP Jordan Sigman who earned his fifth straight victory and was once again stellar, allowing just two hits and striking out six in six innings of work. Sophomore RHP Kyle Tachibana pitched a perfect seventh for his third save of the year.
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/boxscores/20110326_qnkt.xml
Game 3: Chapman 9, Wheaton 2
In the nightcap, sophomore RHP Christian Maietta earned his third straight win, striking out a career-high 11 batters in just six innings of work. The righty surrendered only two sixth inning runs on seven hits to improve to 3-1 this season. Three Chapman relievers combined to no-hit Wheaton over the final three innings.
Showing no signs of fatigue from two earlier games, the Chapman offense exploded for nine runs in the first five innings, including a five-run fifth.
Greenberg struck again in the second inning to get the Panthers on the board. The ninth-place hitter doubled with the bases loaded and two outs to drive in three runs and give Chapman an early 3-0 lead. In the fifth, the Panthers got RBI from freshman IF Adam Coggan and Saatzer plus a two-run single from senior C Max Burnett, all contributing to the scoring outburst.
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/boxscores/20110326_86dx.xml
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director