FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ON THE ROAD, SAME RESULTS; PANTHERS ROLL THROUGH SEASON FINALE

DALLAS, Texas – The end of one streak only prompted the start of another. Chapman University’s baseball team had its school-record 20-game winning streak snapped on April 19 and was facing its next seven games away from Southern California to conclude the regular season. No problem.

The Panthers traveled to University of Dallas and swept a three-game series to run their current winning streak to seven games. Chapman (35-3) concluded the regular season with its best record since its 37-3 mark in 1999 and has won 27 of its last 28 heading into the NCAA Division III playoffs (presumably) as the No. 1 team in the country.

Game 1: Chapman 18, Dallas 0
The Panthers took the mantra “everything’s big in Texas” quite literally with their biggest inning of the year coming in a 12-run sixth. Chapman pounded out 19 hits in the game, including a 4-for-5 performance from junior IF Tristan Phillips, who drove in six runs. Phillips led off the sixth inning with a solo home run, and then hit a grand slam later in the same inning becoming the first Chapman player to accomplish that feat. After going more than six seasons without a grand slam, the Panthers have hit three grand slams in the last two weeks.

Sophomore OF Ryan Prechtl also homered in the sixth inning – his second of the year – and drove in four runs in the game.

Meanwhile, junior Wayde Kitchens was dealing on the mound. The right-hander pitched his second straight shutout and third of the season – a two-hitter – while striking out a career-high 17 Dallas batters in the process. His strikeout performance tied a school record set by Scott Akamine in 2002. Kitchens improved to 7-0 and lowered his team-leading ERA to 0.31.

Game 2: Chapman 3, Dallas 1
Senior DH Stuart Hyman doubled in the tying run and scored the game-winning run on Phillips’ sacrifice fly in the sixth as the Panthers held on in a pitchers’ duel. Chapman had 13 hits, but grounded into three double plays in the first five innings before breaking through with a pair of runs in the sixth.

Junior IF/RHP Kurt Yacko went 3-for-5 to lead the Panthers, and then pitched three scoreless innings in relief to earn his 12th save of the year – just one shy of the school’s single-season record. Senior RHP Ryan Clear scattered seven hits in six innings to earn his ninth win of the season.

Game 3: Chapman 13, Dallas 6
More Chapman offense. The Panthers pounded out 20 hits for the fourth time in its last 11 games. Yacko caught senior OF Mike Vass in the first inning for the team lead with his 10th home run of the year. But Vass answered back in the sixth inning with his 11th homer of the season. They are the first Chapman tandem since 2000 to hit 10 or more home runs each in the same season. Pat Stevens holds the school record with 12 home runs that year. Vass went 3-for-5 and scored four runs for Chapman, who put the game out of reach with a five-run seventh inning.

Phillips, who was on fire all weekend, went 3-for-4 in the game with four RBI. He finished the weekend series going 8-for-11 (.727) with 11 RBI and catapulted himself into the team lead with a .426 batting average this season.

All of the offense was in support of freshman RHP Jordan Sigman who improved to 9-1 this year and struck out a career-high 10 batters in his first complete game of the year.

The Panthers will find out their NCAA postseason fate on Sunday night when the Pool B ‘at-large’ selections are announced.

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Game stats available online:
http://www1.chapman.edu/athletics/07-08/baseball/cu-ud1.htm
http://www1.chapman.edu/athletics/07-08/baseball/cu-ud2.htm
http://www1.chapman.edu/athletics/07-08/baseball/cu-ud3.htm