ORANGE, Calif. — Baseball split on the day and dropped its three-game set with a 6-4 win in game two and an 8-5 loss in game three to MIT on Saturday, March 9.

Game 1 - W, 6-4

The Panthers jumped out in front right away in the first, scoring three runs without recording a hit. A pair of errors, three walks, and a hit by pitch gave Chapman the early 3-0 lead.

MIT cut into the Panther lead in the second with a two spot, but two runs of their own in the fourth after an AJ Anzai double gave Chapman its second three-run lead.

The Engineers clawed as close as one run back, but the Panther bullpen, led by Dylan Holt, solidified the game-one victory. Holt earned his first save of the season after throwing the final two innings of a two-run ballgame.

Brandon Menzel started on the mound, earning the win, his third of the season. He threw five innings, allowed three runs, and struck out four.

Eli Biehl notched the first hit of his career, a solo homer in the seventh inning.

Game 2 - L, 8-5

The Panthers struggled to get the offense going early as they took a 3-0 deficit into the fifth inning.

Kai Osaka got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly, but that's all Chapman would get in the fifth. The Panthers started swinging the bats well in the sixth. A Matt Campopiano double – the first hit of his career – set up Josh Phillips' third homer of the season to tie the game. Later in the inning, Ryan Nopper scored on a wild pitch to give Chapman a 4-3 lead. Phillips extended the lead to two with an RBI double in the seventh.

Chapman's bullpen ran into some trouble in the late innings. An eighth-inning rally saw MIT put up a four-spot. They added one more in the ninth to seal the deal as Chapman went down one-two-three in the eighth and ninth. 

Colin Godfrey started on the mound and earned a no-decision. He allowed three runs in five innings pitched with four punchouts. Graham Stogner picked up the loss.

The Panthers moved to 8-5 with the series defeat and will face a tough test with three games against SUNY Cortland next week. The first pitch of the series is slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday at Hart Park.