Pitching falters late as Panthers win streak is snapped

ORANGE, Calif.- In a battle between teams with identical conference records, the Chapman University baseball team dropped an 8-2 decision to Pomona-Pitzer on Friday at Hart Park. The loss snaps a six-game Panther win streak as they fall behind the second-place Sagehens in the SCIAC standings.

Sagehens starter Jake Bruml delivered an impressive performance, tossing a complete game against the Panthers, allowing two unearned runs on eight hits while striking out two batters.

Chapman starter Justin Hanks worked his way through the first two innings with ease before getting into trouble in the third. An RBI-single by Mike Moyer just beyond the reach of LF Andrew Carbajal gave Pomona-Pitzer an early 1-0 lead. The next batter, Nick Gentili, clubbed an RBI-double down the left field line that scored Moyer and gave the Sagehens a 2-0 advantage.

The Panthers would respond in the fifth, taking advantage of a throwing error by Bruml on a pickoff attempt allowing Tyler Surnbrock to move from first to third. Catcher David Basen collected an RBI, driving in Surnbrock with a groundout. Chapman evened the score in the sixth, capitalizing on another Sagehen error as catcher Coleman Lukas' errant throw put runners on the corners for DH Matt Gandy, who drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly.

Despite allowing just two runs through six innings, Hanks failed to escape trouble in the seventh inning allowing two more runs to give the Sagehens a 4-2 advantage. Hanks would allow another run in the eighth as Basen's attempt to throw out Erik Munzer at third base went awry, pushing the Pomona-Pitzer lead to 5-2.

Head coach Tom Tereschuk called upon freshman Ben Vietze to relieve Hanks, who went eight innings allowing five runs (four earned) on 12 hits with four strikeouts. Vietze was unable to escape the inning unscathed, giving up a three-run home run to Simon Rosenbaum that sealed the victory for the Sagehens.

The Panthers will head to Pomona tomorrow for a doubleheader to close out the series against the Sagehens. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.

by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant

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