Posted: May 19, 2011
Piro and Sigman lead Chapman to 8-4 win over Redlands
ABILENE, Texas. – A three-run first inning triple by junior OF Charlie Piro and a complete game from P Jordan Sigman powered the Chapman University baseball team to an 8-4 come-from-behind win over the University of Redlands on Saturday evening at the NCAA Division III West Region Championships at Walt Driggers Field. With the win, Chapman (31-11) is the lone team left in the six-team West Region field without a loss. The Panthers face Redlands again or Concordia-Texas at 7 p.m. CST on Friday depending on who wins their game, which is at noon.
Sigman (8-2) got off to a rough start as Redlands (30-12) put a pair of runs on the board in the first inning. After allowing the first two batters of the inning to reach on a walk and a hit batter, Sigman gave up a sacrifice fly to junior IF Jon Cavender. Junior IF Ben Saunders then followed with an RBI single to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.
The lead didn't last long as Redlands' starting pitcher Kyle Hart labored in the bottom of the first inning, giving up three walks, which set the stage for Piro, who came up with a three-run triple to right field to give Chapman a 3-2 lead. Piro finished 2-for-4.
The Panthers then added a run in the second on an RBI single by senior IF Tyler Hadzinsky and another in the third on a run-scoring double by sophomore IF Tyler Surnbrock to take a 5-2 lead.
In the top of the fourth inning, Redlands narrowed the lead to 5-4 after an RBI double from sophomore IF Jason Henning and a groundout by junior C Landon McMath that scored Henning. Sigman struggled at times giving up 11 hits, but Redlands left 13 runners on base, which proved to be costly. Sigman threw 133 pitches and is the second Chapman pitcher in as many games to pitch a complete game as sophomore P Brian Rauh went nine innings on Wednesday. Of the six West Region teams, Chapman has the lowest team ERA at 2.00.
Freshman IF Mark Saatzer gave Chapman some insurance in the sixth inning with a two-out, two-run double to right field, which pushed the lead to 7-4. Saatzer and Surnbrock each had two hits while Hadzinsky was 3-for-4.
by Chris Watts
Sports Information Assistant