Chapman Gets Shot of Confidence, Wins

After losing Sunday’s opener to Cal State Hayward, Chapman players were doubting themselves when freshman Kyle Schoonover came to bat with a man on and two out in the fifth inning of a scoreless game.

Hayward had grabbed the momentum in the NCAA Division III West Regional double-elimination tournament, forcing a deciding game, and Schoonover, like his teammates, was struggling at the plate.

But Schoonover’s double that drove in a run changed all that. It turned out to be the game-winning hit as the reinvigorated Panthers went on to win, 6-3, at Hart Park.

Chapman, which will make its second consecutive trip--and third in five years--to the Division III World Series, opens Friday against Montclair State (N.J.) in the opening round of the eight-team tournament in Appleton, Wis.

“I put most of the pressure on myself and was just trying to stay relaxed,” said Schoonover, who was three-for-19 with three bunt singles, as he faced Hayward starter Jaime Canfield, who had given up just two hits. “I had no big hits in the tournament, although I’d been hitting a lot of balls at people.”

Chapman Coach Rex Peters took Schoonover aside before he batted. The rest of the team apparently took notice.

“We were a little tight after they beat us in the first game,” Jude Chavez said. “We were waiting for someone to spark us and that guy was Schoonover.”

The next batter, Alex Taylor, drove in Schoonover with a double and Andy Karp’s bloop single to left scored Taylor.

An inning later, the Panthers parlayed two singles from Mike Caira and Brian Sanders, a sacrifice bunt from Miller and a two-run single by Brian Menkin into a 5-0 lead.

With the Panthers holding a three-run lead, Chavez added a dramatic ending to the victory, making a diving catch in right-center field and throwing to second to double up pinch-runner Josh Silva.

A little more than 24 hours earlier, Chapman (37-9) was the only remaining unbeaten team in the six-team regional field and most of the Panthers predicted that a second game Sunday would not be necessary.

But Hayward (27-18), which won two games Saturday to advance, got a great effort from pitcher Andrew Pasquinelli to win, 4-2, and stop Chapman’s seven-game winning streak in Sunday’s opener. Pasquinelli went the distance, giving up eight hits and striking out six. Two-run home runs from Parker and Jake Holt was all the senior right-hander needed.