La Verne, Calif. – The Chapman University baseball team split a doubleheader to start a three-game series with La Verne on Saturday. La Verne took the first game 12-1 before Chapman evened up the series with a 9-6 win. Seniors Mack Cheli and Henry Zeisler each hit home runs in the Panthers' second game win.

Game 1 – L, 12-1 (7 inns.)

The Leopards had waited nearly 14 months to get back on the field and finally made their 2021 debut on Saturday. La Verne came out swinging and didn't let up in the first game on the way to clinching the run-rule victory.

La Verne put up four in the first and four more in the third before adding a pair in the fifth and sixth.

Junio Drew Littwin hit an RBI-double in the third for the Panthers only run. Cheli went 2-for-3 to account for half of the Panthers hits.

Game 2 – W, 9-6

The Chapman bats woke up in the second game and Cheli delivered the first blow. After Zeisler doubled and stole third, Cheli went to the opposite field for a two-run homer. Littwin added a sacrifice fly in the third before senior Kyle Joye pitched in an RBI-single in the fourth.

La Verne plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third and two more in the fifth to tie the game. The Leopards manufactured their way around the bases all game as all 13 hits were singles.

La Verne's Patrick Perez knocked in his third RBI of the game in the sixth to give La Verne a 5-4 lead. Chapman answered back in the seventh with a five-run inning.

Nick Kondo and Brad Shimabuku hit one-out singles to set the table for Littwin, who delivered with a game-tying singles. Zeisler followed with a three-run to right to regain the 8-5 lead for Chapman. A Cheli double and triple from Cooper Foard gave Chapman its ninth run.

Cheli ended the day with five hits over the two games while Kondo added in a three-hit game in the nightcap.

The Leopards tried to claw back with a run in the seventh but junior Ben Ziv didn't allow anything more. He struck out back-to-back hitters to end the eighth and retired five of the last six batters of the game to end Chapman's brief two-game slide.

Ziv tossed four innings out of the bullpen, fanning three while allowing a pair of runs on six hits, to get the win.

Chapman and La Verne meet on Sunday at Hart Park to finish off the three-game SCIAC series.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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