No. 2 Chapman Will Host Regional

Although Chapman is no stranger to the NCAA softball playoffs, the Panthers have never hosted the NCAA Division III West Regional, until now.

Today through Saturday at Hart Park, Chapman, ranked second in the nation, will host Cal Lutheran, Buena Vista (Storm Lake, Iowa), St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minn.) and Lawrence (Appleton, Wis.) in the double-elimination tournament. The winner advances to the finals May 14-17 in Salem, Va.

Chapman won the Division III title in 1995 and finished second last season.

Games begin today with St. Thomas (32-10) playing Lawrence (23-10) at noon, and Cal Lutheran (27-19) playing Buena Vista (25-9) at 2 p.m. Top-seeded Chapman (31-6) plays the St. Thomas-Lawrence winner at 4 p.m.

Games will be played at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. Friday. The championship game is 2 p.m. Saturday, with a 4 p.m. game if necessary.

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Baseball: Chapman finished its regular season strong, sweeping a two-game series from then fifth-ranked Cal Lutheran to increase its chances of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III West Regional. The tournament field will be announced Sunday.

“I don’t see any way that they can keep us out,” said Chapman Coach Rex Peters, whose team is enjoying a 10-day layoff before the regional begins May 14. “You look at our record and we’re 6-0 against ranked teams. Hopefully, it’s just a matter of where we’ll go.”

Pitcher Jeff Blitstein (12-3) has helped the Panthers’ charge, developing into the staff’s ace.

“He’s been huge,” Peters said. “He went from a guy who we thought could contribute to an All-American candidate. He’s leading the NCAA Division III in wins.”

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Basketball: Concordia has signed four men’s basketball players, including three from the community college level, Coach Greg Marshall announced Wednesday.

Garid Beeler, a 6-2 guard who was a reserve forward on Ocean View’s Southern Section Division IV-A championship team last season, will join two transfers from Fresno City College. Tyson Aye, a 6-foot-3 guard, and Harry Hofmann, a 6-10 center, helped Fresno to a 26-8 record last season. Aye averaged 10.5 points and 3.8 assists.

Also signing was Brian Vander Wal, a 6-7 forward from Cerritos College. He earned All-South Coast Conference honors as a freshman and averaged 7.3 points and 6.4 rebounds last season.