Cedar Rapids, Iowa (6/4/2019) – For the second time in school history, the Chapman University Panthers are NCAA Division III baseball champions. Chapman swept Birmingham-Southern College in the best-of-three championship round, 6-4 and 11-0, to win and NCAA title for the first time since 2003. The Panthers also were runner-up in 2011.
Chapman, ranked No. 1 in the nation at times throughout the season, overcame a pool-play loss by defeating UMass Boston twice yesterday. Head coach Scott Laverty’s team was back to the top of his pitching rotation for game one as Tyler Peck went to the hill. He gave up a single run in the first and third innings, but his teammates put up a two-spot in the second and another run in the third.
The two runs that gave Chapman the lead came on a two-run single by right fielder Joe Tsuruda. The run in the third came on a solo home run off the bat of catcher Joe Jimenez. The cushion grew to 6-2 in the fifth inning on an RBI single from first baseman Henry Zeisler and a two-run single from center fielder Trevor Marrs. Peck put up goose eggs in the fourth and fifth before giving up a run in the sixth.
Reliever Nick Garcia came in for a six-out save, his 12
th of the year. Peck’s final record Garcia had a 0.56 ERA during the regular season. Jimenez was 3-for-3 with three runs scored, a homer and an RBI. No other player had more than one hit. Birmingham-Southern designated hitter Tyler Hamel was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Third baseman Brian Williams was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Righty Mason Collins took the ball in game two and was brilliant as was BSC starter Hanan Mauldin. Chapman didn’t have a hit through the first five innings, and BSC couldn’t push across any of its three hits during that same time. Shoddy fielding provided the first run of the game in sixth inning. Two straight errors put runners at first and second. The lead runner eventually got to third where Third baseman Drew Litwin lifted a sac fly into left field.
The floodgates then opened with two runs in the seventh and eight runs in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Brad Shimabuku stroked an RBI single to make it 2-0. Shortstop Jarod Penniman brought in another run with an RBI groundout.
The Panthers struck for eight runs in the eighth. Zeisler had a two-run single; Shimabuku knocked in two with a triple; Penniman plated a run with a single; second baseman Aaron Wong had an RBI double; Tsuruda had an RBI single; and Littwin finished off the barrage with an RBI single.
Collins went the distance for his ninth win of the year (9-4). He struck out four and walked one, throwing 102 pitches in the process.
Chapman finished the season with an overall record of 44-12. Birmingham-Southern’s final record was 42-15. This was the first of four years for the championship in Cedar Rapids. The dates for 2020 are May 29 through June 2 or 3.
