GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - As hot as the Panthers coming into the
NCAA Division III baseball championships on Friday, it didn't take
long for St. Thomas University (Minn.) to cool them down. The
Tommies, ranked No. 18 in Division III, scored first and cruised to
a 9-1 over Chapman University at Time Warner Field at Fox Cities
Stadium in the first round of the finals.
The loss sends Chapman (30-16) to the loser's bracket where it
will face Farmingdale State College (N.Y.) on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.
(CST).
The Panthers never really threatened. Already trailing 3-0 in
the third inning, Chapman loaded the bases with two outs, but
senior IF Patrick Ohail popped out to end the
rally. St. Thomas (37-12) then scored five times in the fifth
inning to pad its lead to 8-0.
Chapman was held hitless from the fourth through the seventh
innings until sophomore OF John Semel hit his
team-leading 12th home run of the season to put the Panthers on the
board and break up the shutout attempt by St. Thomas' RHP
Matt Schuld. Semel finished 2-for-3 in the game.
Schuld scattered just five hits and struck out seven Panthers
for the victory. Chapman sophomore RHP Jordan
Sigman (9-4) suffered just his fourth loss of the season,
surrendering eight earned runs and 10 hits in five innings.
The Panthers entered the game having won 9 of 11 games and
averaging close to nine runs per game. Chapman is 1-3 in its past
four games, when facing elimination. The win came last Sunday in
the West Region championship game.
Box score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2008-09/stats/cu-ust.htm
