Hayden’s Subtle Dominance Keeps Chapman Going Strong

The odd twist to Chapman pitcher Eric Hayden’s recent dominance is that his pitching style is anything but dominant.

He isn’t overpowering, relying instead on placing the ball in the right spots and letting his defense take over. That approach worked again Saturday as Chapman stayed alive in the NCAA Division III baseball championship.

Hayden worked eight strong innings, giving up a run and four hits in the Panthers’ 9-1 victory over Southern Maine at Fox Cities Stadium.

When asked what was behind his late-season success, Hayden shrugged.

“I don’t know,” said Hayden, who improved his record to 7-0. “It’s not like I’ve had a bunch of strikeouts. I have had a lot of help behind me. That helps.”

Faced with a must-win situation in each game of the double-elimination tournament after losing to Allegheny of Pennsylvania on Friday, Chapman Coach Rex Peters handed the ball to Hayden. Closer Eric Albright pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Hayden pitched a shutout in his only other NCAA playoff appearance this year, a 4-0 victory over Cal Lutheran in the West Regional. Hayden’s earned-run average in the Division III playoffs is an impressive 0.52.

“The one thing I felt good about was the way Eric has been throwing lately,” Peters said. “He has been giving us quality starts late in the season, and a very good start in the regional. I felt he was going to give us a chance to win. Certainly, he did that.”

Hayden got off to a poor start, which he admitted was partially attributable to nerves. He gave up two hits and one run in the top of the first inning, but after that Hayden was nearly unhittable. He struck out only three batters in eight innings, but retired 21 of the final 24 he faced, giving up only two singles, with another batter reaching on an error.

“Early on, he was getting the ball up and they were hitting it hard,” catcher Tony Serna said. “But once he started throwing downhill and hitting his spots, he found a command for his off-speed pitches. Once that happened, they couldn’t get anything.”

At nearly every turn during the game, Southern Maine helped Chapman with poor fielding. The Huskies committed errors in five of the first six innings, leading to four unearned runs as the Panthers built a 5-1 lead. Overall, the Huskies committed seven errors.

Offensively for Chapman, Pat Stevens got RBIs on two sacrifice flies, Serna hit a go-ahead two-run single to left field in the second inning and Adam Olow had a bases-loaded, two-run double in the ninth inning that put the game out of reach. Olow went four for four, scored two runs and drove in two.

The Panthers face Cortland (N.Y.) State today in another elimination game. Peters said that he had not decided on a starter, and he has many options. Peters said he will choose from among Clint Blevins, Andrew Tisdale, Bobby Sunderland and Erik Maurer.

Blevins is a good possibility. Although he has started only twice this season, he pitched well in the West Regional, picking up two wins in middle relief.

“We have to feel good about our position now because we have only used three pitchers in two games,” Peters said. “Hopefully we can get another win and get on a roll and see if we can make a run at something.”