FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ORANGE, Calif. – If it was truly Chapman’s first “test” of the season, the Panthers passed with flying colors. The No. 4-ranked Chapman University baseball team faced its first nationally-ranked opponent of the season on Thursday afternoon, defeating No. 20 (tie) Ithaca College 12-1 at Hart Park. Senior right-hander Buddy Klovstad earned his 18th consecutive win – a streak that dates back to 2004 – and improved to 6-0 this season with eight innings of three-hit ball. Klovstad surrendered just one unearned run and struck out five for the Panthers. The offense came late, but was plentiful for Chapman (13-4). The Panthers scored five times in the sixth inning to overcome a 1-0 deficit, and then hung seven runs in the eighth inning to put the nail in the proverbial coffin. Freshman first baseman Patrick Ohail delivered the big blow in the seventh inning, hitting a two-run homer with one out, giving the Panthers a 7-1 lead. Junior outfielder Tyler Dean collected three hits, including a double and a triple, and was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle for the third time this season. For Ithaca (3-1), Kyle Rutherford drove in the Bombers’ lone run with an RBI single in the fifth. It was the first of eight upcoming games the Panthers have versus preseason nationally-ranked top-30 Division III teams. The next of those games will be March 14 when Chapman hosts No. 20 (tie) Kean (N.J.).
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