Baseball falls in SCIAC championship to Kingsmen

LA VERNE, Calif. — Baseball's run in the SCIAC tournament ended in the championship against Cal Lutheran, 6-2.

A plethora of atom balls was the story for the Panthers. While they notched 10 hits, Cal Lutheran's defense took away nearly 10 as well on hard hit balls. Brad Shimabuku's hard line out to end the game perfectly summed up the afternoon for the Panthers.

A great showing in the tournament saw Chapman knock down the second and first seeds in the tournament.

In this one, Cal Lutheran scored the first six runs of the game. The Panthers were knocking on the door in the bottom of the fifth after an Austin Dudas lead off double, Ryan Nopper lined a single up the middle, but a great throw from center nabbed Dudas at the plate. Shimabuku followed Nopper with a single, but the Panthers didn't score.

AJ Anzai, Brandon Menzel and Henry Chabot all had nice outings on the mound, but timely Kingsmen hitting sealed the deal.

Chapman is now at the hands of the selection committee. Cal Lutheran earns the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but ranking sixth in the region before the tournament, the Panthers have a shot to jump La Verne and Claremont-M-S. That may net them a trip to a Regional. 

The selection show will be on Monday, May 15.

By Joe Perrino

Assistant SID / Recreation Sports Manager

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