ORANGE, Calif. – The No. 20-ranked Chapman University baseball team made it a dozen straight victories, defeating visiting Ithaca College 10-3 on Monday afternoon at Hart Park. The Panthers broke open a tie game with three runs in the sixth and four more in the eighth to win their eighth in a row both at home and against the Bombers in this annual spring break rivalry.
The Panthers' 12-game winning streak is their longest since 2008 when they won 20 consecutive.
Junior OF Steve Greenberg laced a two-run double into left-center with one out in the sixth inning to cap a three-run rally which gave Chapman (13-4) the lead for good. The Panthers snapped the 3-3 tie one batter earlier when junior pinch hitter Tyler Hadzinsky – nursing a sore hamstring – legged out a bases-loaded fielder's choice to drive in a run.
Chapman added four more insurance runs in the eighth. Freshman IF Troy Newman doubled in a run and scored on an RBI groundout by senior Max Burnett. Sophomore IF Tyler Surnbrock also added a two-out RBI single in the inning. Surnbrock was 3-for-4 on the day and reached base four times.
The sixth-inning rally gave sophomore RHP Travis McGee his third win of the season, improving to 3-2. McGee struck out seven batters and surrendered six hits in six innings, but struggled with a high pitch count throughout the game. After Ithaca (3-2) took a 3-2 lead in the third inning, the sophomore settled down to toss three shutout innings before being relieved. Junior LHP Ben Levitt took over and tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit to earn his first save of the season.
The Chapman offense accumulated double-digit hits for the ninth time this season and sixth time in their past eight games. Of the Panthers' 14 hits, Newman, freshman IF Mark Saatzer and senior C Adam Kordich all had a pair of hits each.
Chapman and Ithaca will meet again on Tuesday afternoon to conclude the two-game series. First pitch has been moved up to 5 p.m. – originally slated as a 7 p.m. night game.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/boxscores/20110314_u4zd.xml