Game Notes: 2010 NCAA Division III West Region Baseball Tournament

McMinnville, Ore. – Here is everything you need to know about this week’s NCAA Division III Baseball Regional at Linfield College as the Chapman University baseball team gets its 2010 postseason underway on Wednesday at noon against No.6 seed Trinity (Texas) University.

30 Wins......Again!!!
For the seventh time in eight seasons, the Panthers eclipsed the 30-win mark. The 2004 season is the only year in head coach Tom Tereschuk’s eight-year tenure at Chapman that the team failed to reach 30 wins. That year the team won 29 games.

2010 Regular Season Recap
Chapman got off to a strong start in 2010 winning nine-of-10 games with its lone loss during the stretch coming to NAIA, Point Loma Nazarene University. In fact, four of the Panthers’ nine regular season losses were to non-NCAA opponents. Chapman’s first Division III loss was against rival Pomona-Pitzer 12-5 on March 1. Chapman won 2-of-3 from Pomona in 2010. After dropping games to Cal. State San Marcos and Cal. State Dominguez Hills, Chapman went on a nine-game winning streak during the middle of the season. Chapman then went into a bit of a skid, losing four-of-eight games including two games at Hart Park against West Region Championship host Linfield College. After dropping the first two games of the series to Linfield, Chapman won the final two games to split the season. Chapman is 4-3 this season against teams in the West Regional (2-1 vs. Pomona-Pitzer and 2-2 vs. Linfield).

Pitching Staff Near Top of National Stat Rankings
Over the last eight seasons, excellent pitching has been a staple of the Chapman program under Tereschuk. Once again the Panthers’ staff ranks near the top nationally with a 3.27 ERA that ranks fourth. Chapman is led by freshman Brian Rauh (10-0, 2.42 ERA, 4 saves) who ranks fourth nationally in wins and fifth in hits allowed per nine innings (5.57). Junior Jordan Sigman has also been solid (8-4, 2.72 ERA) in his 12 starts.

Single-Season Records Within Reach
Senior IF Matt Luzar has 12 homers and is two away from equaling the single-season mark of 14 set by Mike Vass in 2008. In addition, Luzar has been outstanding in his first season as an every-day first baseman after making the transition from being a pitcher. Luzar has not committed an error in 370 chances. Also if the Panthers make a deep playoff run, senior OF Ryan Prechtl could break the career hits mark of 254 set by Alex Taylor (2000-03). Currently Prechtl has 244 hits.

Score Early, Score Often
If Chapman is going to make another trip to Appleton for the Division III Championships, they are going to need to get on the board early before the other team’s offense can get going. While there will be some strong pitching in this regional, explosive offenses seem to be the theme as team batting averages range from .328 (Chapman) to .380 (Trinity) - the Panthers’ opening round opponent. Chapman is 26-3 this year when scoring first and 25-1 when scoring 10 or more runs. The Panthers however are 4-6 when their opponent scores first and 5-8 if an opponent holds them to five runs or less.

No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer: The Sagehens will be out to avenge last season’s disappointing showing in the West Region playoffs when they came in as the No. 1 seed but failed to reach the championship game. Chapman eliminated Pomona-Pitzer last May and followed that up by taking two of three from the ‘Hens earlier this season. Pitzer has been ranked in the top-15 by D3Baseball.com all season long, climbing to as high as No. 5 in April. The Sagehens are currently No. 10 in the nation after winning their second straight SCIAC championship and fifth in the past nine years. Pomona-Pitzer traditionally has slugged with the best teams in the country and this year’s edition is no different, averaging over 10 runs per game and ranking third in the nation in doubles. Junior David Colvin (9-3, 2.51 ERA) leads the pitching staff with 95 strikeouts, which ranks him No. 7 in Division III.

No. 4 Texas-Tyler: Entering the tournament ranked No. 17 in the division, Tyler is making its second consecutive trip to McMinnville for the West Regionals. The American Southwest Conference champs won 28 of their final 32 games including back-to-back victories over conference rival Mississippi College to reach the 35-win mark. The Patriots have been amongst the top defensive teams in the nation, ranking fifth with a .970 fielding percentage. Senior OF Austin Newell has been the Pats’ most productive stick, batting .380 with 19 extra-base hits, 46 RBI and 18 stolen bases.

No. 5 Mississippi College: The ASC runner’s up maybe the tournament field’s most well-rounded club entering the postseason. The Choctaws rank in the top-25 in Division III in batting (.354 avg.), stolen bases (94) and pitching (3.99 ERA) and are No. 35 in fielding (.963). They enter the tournament with the most victories of any of their competitors with 36, including winning streaks of 18 and 11 during the regular season. Mississippi also boasts a bona fide ace in senior RHP Tyler Seaman, who is 10-0 with a 3.18 ERA and 78 strikeouts and was named ASC Pitcher of the Year. Senior OF Bo Bell (.436, 10 HR, 56 RBI) was named conference Hitter of the Year.

No. 6 Trinity (Texas): The Tigers are the last team to knock Chapman out of a West Region playoff, accomplishing the feat back in 2004. Chapman returned the favor in 2008, defeating Trinity twice and is 3-1 all-time against the Tigers in postseason play. Statistically, Trinity has the most potent offense in the nation, leading the country with 11.6 runs per game and ranking third in Division III with a .380 team batting average. The Tigers are currently No. 12 in the latest D3Baseball.com poll after winning the SCAC championship. Senior 1B Evan Jones has been at the forefront of Trinity’s offensive attack, batting .493 with 13 HR and 67 RBI – all ranking among the top in the nation.

by Chris Watts and Doug Aiken
Sports Information Assistant and Sports Information Director