Chapman Misses Out in 4-3 Loss

Perhaps if only one play had determined Chapman’s season-ending loss at the NCAA Division III baseball championships, it would have been easier for the Panthers to handle.

But there will be plenty of second-guessing before the Panthers can put this loss behind them.

Chapman missed several opportunities in its 4-3 loss to St. Thomas of St. Paul, Minn., Monday night at Fox Cities Stadium. The loss ended the Panthers’ run in the double-elimination tournament. A win would have put them in today’s championship round.

“Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve,” Chapman Coach Rex Peters said. “I thought we played well enough to win, but there were little things here and there that make a difference in a close ballgame.”

Chapman led, 2-0, through six innings, although the lead could have been greater. In the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded, nobody out and Chapman up, 1-0, Pat Stevens lined a single into center field.

Brandon Maciel, who waited between second and third to see if the ball would drop, was waved home by Peters. The first baseman relayed the center fielder’s throw to the plate and Maciel was out by 25 feet.

Back-to-back fly-ball outs ended the inning, and Chapman had only a 2-0 lead.

“I saw (Maciel) hesitate, but the thing I didn’t see was the cutoff guy,” Peters said. “I didn’t see him. It was a bad send, no question. That was a run for us.”

Starting pitcher Erik Maurer shut out the Tommies for six innings, helping Chapman set a Division III postseason record with 23 straight scoreless innings.

But after Maurer was pulled for reliever Clint Blevins in the seventh, Chapman’s record streak and its two-run lead expired with one bad defensive play.

With runners on first and second and nobody out, John Frein pushed a sacrifice bunt attempt down the third-base line. Chapman third baseman Eric Albright fielded the ball and threw it past second baseman Jason Miller, who was covering first. As the Panthers chased the errant throw into foul territory, two runners scored and Frein went to third. Two batters later, a squeeze bunt gave St. Thomas a 3-2 lead.

Chapman tied the score in the bottom of the ninth on a single by Adam Olow, but left two runners on, bringing the Panthers’ total to 10 for the game.

Then in the 10th, Albright came on in relief and allowed a leadoff infield single. A sacrifice bunt and a balk moved the runner to third, and Tom Carroll drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center.

Chapman went in order in the bottom of the 10th.