Six-run fifth dooms Panthers against MIT

ORANGE, Calif. – A six-run fifth inning by the MIT baseball team provided the difference as the visiting Engineers defeated host Chapman University 8-2 at Hart Park on Tuesday night. The loss was the Panthers' second straight and first back-to-back defeats in over a month as Chapman (15-8) played its final non-conference game of the season.

Trailing 2-1, MIT (2-2) sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth inning, collecting seven hits including four doubles and plated six runs to take a 7-2 lead and chase Chapman junior RHP Connor Williams from the game. Engineers' OF Hayden Cornwell delivered the knockout blow to the Panthers in the inning with a two-out, two-run flyball double that dropped in shallow right.

The Panthers had taken a 2-0 lead in the third when sophomore OF Joey Bernal tripled home the first run of the game and then scored on a wild pitch. Those were the lone highlights for Chapman which was limited to just four hits by three MIT pitchers. The Panthers managed just one hit after the fourth inning, a ninth-inning single by freshman IF Jared Love.

Starting LHP David Hesslink earned his first win of the year for the Engineers, allowing three hits and one earned run in six innings. Meanwhile, MIT collected 13 hits, including three from OF Reid Bishop.

Chapman will play its final 16 games within the SCIAC, beginning with a three-game series against the University of Redlands on Friday (on the road) including a doubleheader on Saturday at Hart Park starting at 11 a.m. The Panthers are currently in fifth place in the conference standings at 8-4.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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