GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - Jason Mooneyham went 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, and pitcher Jairo Ochoa struck out nine batters in eight innings of work, as Chapman University scored an 8-1 win over Wartburg College in an NCAA Division III Baseball Championships first-round game on Friday afternoon at Fox Cities Stadium.

    Chapman (37-9) will advance to play Wisconsin-Whitewater (42-7) in a championship-round game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., while Wartburg (36-10) will play an elimination game against Trinity (Conn., 35-8) on Saturday at 10 a.m.

    Mooneyham reached base all five times he appeared at the plate, with two doubles, a single and intentional walk, while also being hit by a pitch. He scored two runs for the Panthers, the No. 2-ranked team in the last Division III national poll.

    In improving to 10-2 on the season, Ochoa allowed just four hits and three walks, while getting nine strikeouts. Reliever Devin Drag pitched the ninth for the Panthers, allowing just one hit and a walk.

     "I don't think it was really my pitching. I had a lot of help defensively," said Ochoa. "The first couple of innings, there were a lot of big plays that went my way. Once that got going, it put me in a rhythm where I was able to throw any pitch I wanted."

    Ochoa started the game strong, retiring the first nine batters he faced in order, including a stretch of four strikeouts in a row in the second and third innings. Wartburg's Aaron Port led off the fourth inning with a walk, but he was caught off guard on the basepaths, as a long fly ball to left on the next at-bat was caught by C.J. Castillo, who was able to double-off Port on a relay play. It was one of two fly-ball double plays for the Panthers in the game.

     "We have several good pitchers, and they've been consistent throughout the entire season," said Chapman coach Tom Tereshuck. "I think this was a typical performance from Jairo. He probably stepped it up a little bit here for the World Series. Hopefully we'll continue to keep the consistency level going."

    Chapman took the lead for good in the fourth inning. With one out, a fielder's choice and consecutive hit batters loaded the bases, and No. 9 hitter Kyle Redding stroked an opposite-field double to the right-field corner, plating two runs. It was the second opposite-field double of the inning, after John Alexander opened the frame with a double to left.

    Mooneyham stroked two doubles in his first three plate appearances, a two-bagger to left in the first inning and another to deep center to lead off the fifth. He came across for Chapman's third run on a sacrifice fly to left by Alexander.

     "It starts off with him (Ochoa)," Mooneyham said. "If we can get him out there throwing like that, it takes the pressure off of us. We feel if we can get five runs, we've got a win with our pitching staff."

    Wartburg cleanup hitter Joel Reynolds stroked the first home run of the championships left field to lead off the fifth inning, his team-leading seventh round-tripper of the season. After the homer, a single to short center by Brian Greiner and a walk by Christopher Robertson put two runners aboard with nobody out. But a double-play grounder and a strikeout ended the biggest threat for the Knights in the game.

    In the seventh, two-run doubles by Alexander and Castillo gave the Panthers a 7-1 advantage, as Chapman sent eight batters to the plate, scoring four runs on three hits. Another run came across in the eighth, as Justin Hallenbeck singled and scored on a single by Tyler Dean.

    Alexander had two doubles with 3 RBI for the Panthers, while Justin Hallenbeck went 2-for-5 at the plate. Wartburg pitchers hit four Chapman batters, and three of those scored.

    Wartburg suffered its most lopsided loss of the season, snapping an eight-game winning streak for the Knights.

     "I didn't recognize the team that was on the field, to be very honest with you," said Wartburg coach Joel Holst. "That was probably the worst game we played all year. … Hopefully, we can bounce back here. This senior group has played well for an extended period of time. To go out like this would be a shame."

    Starter Ryan Moorman lasted six innings for the Knights, striking out three while allowing five hits. Relievers Charles Colvin, Matt Motsenbocker and Aaron Saeugling pitched an inning apiece.

     "They did a good job of hitting my fastball, when they knew it was coming. That's a tribute to them. They were better than me today, that's basically all I can say," Moorman said.

    Reynolds' homer was the lone extra-base hit for the Knights, who entered the championships hitting .316 as a team with a .443 team slugging percentage.

     "We just didn't hit the ball," Reynolds said. "He (Ochoa) pitched pretty well, but we can hit pitching like that. We've done it all year. I don't know what it was. We just weren't ready to play, I guess, and we need to pull it together and try to put up some runs tomorrow."