Sweep success; Panthers break out brooms against Whitman

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University baseball team accomplished a pair of season firsts on Sunday afternoon in defeating visiting Whitman College (Wash.) 8-1 at Hart Park. With the win the Panthers earned their first series sweep of the year as well as their first three-game winning streak. Chapman improved to 5-2 in its last seven games.

Just as in the first two games of the series, the Chapman pitching was brilliant on Sunday as juniors Kevin Osaki and Christian Maietta combined on a four-hitter.

Osaki (3-1) was outstanding in earning his third consecutive win, allowing just three hits and walking none in eight innings of work. The right-hander struck out seven batters while allowing just one unearned run in the third inning. Whitman (5-31) did not score an earned run in the three-game series. Osaki meanwhile is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.44 as a starter this season.

Chapman (16-19) broke open a 3-1 game by scoring five times in the eighth inning, all with two outs. Junior IF Tyler Surnbrock made it 4-1 with an RBI single up the middle and then scored on a Whitman error to prolong the inning. RBI singles by sophomore IF Adam Coggan, junior OF James Parr and sophomore IF Troy Newman gave the Panthers plenty of insurance before the inning came to a close.

The Panthers collected 14 hits in the game led by Newman and sophomore IF Mark Saatzer who each went 3-for-4 and combined for three RBI. Surnbrock and sophomore C Taber Watson both had a pair of hits including a double.

Next up, Chapman will host La Sierra University on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Hart Park.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2011-12/boxscores/20120422_uc5k.xml

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