NCAA® 2007 DIVISION III BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WEST REGION

GAME 11
#1 Chapman 12, #4 Texas-Dallas 2

CHAPMAN WILL PLAY FOR CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THIRD YEAR IN A ROW

ORANGE, Calif. - The Chapman University baseball team defeated the University of Texas at Dallas 12-2 on Friday night to earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Baseball West Region championship game for the third straight year. The tournament host and top-seeded Panthers will face No. 2 Pacific Lutheran on Saturday at noon and need to beat the Lutes twice to pull off back-to-back-to-back regional titles.

Texas-Dallas' first-ever NCAA postseason run came to an end with the Comets finishing 34-13.

Chapman (38-6) rebounded from a 4-3 loss to Pacific Lutheran earlier in the day to pound 12 runs and 16 hits off the Comets' pitching. Tyler Dean was in the middle of two big Panther offensive innings going 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Chapman scored five runs in the second inning and four more in the fourth to put the game out of reach. The Panthers had five extra-base hits, including a double and triple from Kurt Yacko (3-for-5) who was a home run short of the cycle.

The Panthers also got solid pitching from a trio of freshmen. RHP Matt Luzar improved to 5-3, scattering eight hits and seven strikeouts in seven innings. Travis Cross and Paul Deese combined for two perfect innings in relief to seal the victory.

Chapman - the two-time defending regional champs - has had to face two-win championship scenarios in the past. The Panthers needed to beat George Fox (Ore.) twice on the final day of the regional tournament in 2003, and then again versus Texas Lutheran in 2005. Also once at the Division III World Series in 2003 against Christopher Newport (Va.). In all three instances, Chapman swept both games to win the titles.

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Game stats available online:
/athletics/06-07/baseball/regionals/game11.htm