Win Puts Chapman in National Finals

Tim Huff had been waiting to set the record straight, and when the opportunity arose Saturday, he made the most of it.

The Chapman right-hander ended the seventh and eighth innings with key strikeouts to snuff out potential rallies and help the Panthers to a 7-4 victory over Cal Lutheran in the championship game of the NCAA Division III Western Regional baseball tournament.

Chapman took a 7-0 lead in the first two innings and hung on to advance to the Division III finals in Appleton, Wis., where at 2:30 p.m. Friday it will play the winner of the Mideast Regional, which concludes today.

The confident Huff (9-1) has been the Panthers’ best pitcher this season. But in Thursday’s 8-4 victory over host Southwestern to open the tournament, Huff came away with no decision after taking a no-hitter and 3-0 lead into the seventh inning. He served up a home run on the first pitch of the seventh, and Southwestern went on to tie the score and knock out Huff.

“Ever since then it’s like he wanted to prove himself,” catcher Tony Serna said. “He just wanted to get out there and do what he is capable of.”

Huff got his chance Saturday and did it with flair in the seventh and eighth, getting called third strikes with fastballs on the outside corner--both times with the tying run at the plate.

“You try to put that stuff behind you. Every day is a new day,” Huff said. “But today I had some time to prove to myself that I could do what I can do.”

Eric Albright pitched the final inning and got two fly-ball outs to end the game.

Clint Blevins also pitched well and earned the win. He relieved starter Erik Maurer in the third inning, after Cal Lutheran had scored three times in the second, and pitched four innings, giving up three hits and an unearned run.

“We had our opportunities,” Cal Lutheran Coach Marty Slimak said. “We gave a good team too many runs too early in the game and we just couldn’t catch up.”

The Kingsmen (28-14-2), who eliminated Southwestern, 11-5, earlier Saturday, were 0-5-1 against Chapman this season. But they seemed to be getting untracked in the second, when their three-run uprising ended a 12-inning scoring drought against the Panthers.

That made the score 7-3, and Slimak already had staff ace Tom Canale on the mound in relief of freshman left-hander Justin Keeling, who made only his third start of the season.

Canale, who was knocked out in the sixth inning of the Kingsmen’s 11-7 opening-night victory over George Fox (Ore.), scattered five hits in eight innings Saturday, and did not allow a runner to second base after the fourth inning.

But the seven runs Chapman scored in the first two innings were too much for Cal Lutheran to overcome. The Panthers got one in the first on a sacrifice fly by Michael Caira, then sent 10 men to the plate in the second.

Serna walked, Bobby Calderon bunted for a hit and Brandon Maciel walked. Adam Olow singled, scoring Serna, then Keeling hit Pat Stevens with a pitch, forcing in Calderon. Albright doubled in two runs, Caira bounced out to score Stevens and Chavez doubled in Albright.