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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. – The later the night got, the worse things got for the Chapman University baseball team. Marietta College (Ohio) used a 15-hit attack to defeat the Panthers 10-4 in the NCAA Division III national championship tournament at Fox Cities Stadium on Sunday night in a game that ended just before midnight central time. Chapman now faces elimination on Monday against the winner of Montclair State (N.J.)/Wheaton (Mass.) at 3:30 p.m. Chapman (33-12) recovered from an early 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning, scoring a pair of runs on freshman Patrick Ohail’s two-run first inning double, his second in as many days. The Panthers held the 2-1 advantage until the Pioneers touched up Chapman starter Billy Sulentor for three runs – two unearned – in the fourth inning, a lead they would not surrender. Marietta (42-11) built an 8-2 lead in the seventh, chasing Sulentor (5-5) from the game, but Chapman appeared to have a couple of rallies left. The Panthers capitalized on a Pioneer error in the seventh to score a pair of runs, cutting the lead to 8-4. Then Chapman loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but couldn’t cash in any runners. The Panthers again struggled to get clutch hitting, stranding 14 runners on base for the second straight game. “That’s baseball,” said Chapman head coach Tom Tereschuk. “We’ve gotten the runners out there and had opportunities.” Ohail and sophomore Jarrod Sammet each had a pair of hits for Chapman. Senior Brian Brubaker doubled and scored a run. Marietta’s three and four hitters did the most damage against Panther pitching: Jarrod Klausman was 4-for-5 with two runs scored (he was robbed of a fifth hit on a diving catch by Chapman second baseman Kyle Redding) and Justin Steranka was 3-for-5 with two RBI. The Panthers are still just one victory away from the championship round and are guaranteed at least a third place finish in the tournament. Marietta, one of the most storied programs in Division III, advances to the championship game on Tuesday for the 10th time in school history. The Pioneers won championships in 1981, ’83 and ’86.
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