Game #3 - Chapman University 8 • Marietta College 4

 

Drag, Chapman Hold Off Marietta

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - There's no true relief for teams playing in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships until the final out of the championship game on Tuesday.

But after a battle like the one that Chapman University and Marietta College staged in the teams' opening game on Friday evening, the Chapman Panthers can feel at least a small sense of relief.

In a battle of two small-college heavyweights, Chapman claimed an 8-4 victory over defending national champion Marietta in the first-round contest at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

"I think it's real important to get that first win," said Chapman coach Tom Tereschuk. "It gives you confidence. You get to relax. Especially when you get that first win over a team like Marietta, I don't know if it's a sense of relief, but it is certainly a feeling that you've accomplished something and gotten off on the right foot. It makes you more eager, relaxed (and) confident about getting into the next game."

The win keeps Chapman (41-6) in the winner's bracket, where they will play on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. Meanwhile, Marietta (32-16) has to now face elimination games the rest of the way, the first coming on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.

The Panthers rode the right arm of senior pitcher Devin Drag, one of the top pitchers in the nation, through seven-plus innings. Despite giving up 14 hits, Drag held the Pioneers to just four runs, striking out five while walking one.

"Devin just did a fantastic job of gutting it out and getting seven innings to get the 'W'," Tereschuk said. "He just kept battling, pitch-by-pitch, and got us deep in the game ... Devin kept making the pitches and he was just really a bulldog out there."

Drag improved to 16-0 on the season – the most wins of any Division III pitcher this season – and reliever Kurt Yacko earned his 10th save of the year with two innings of scoreless relief, collecting three strikeouts and retiring all six batters he faced.

By Tereschuk's estimation, Drag threw more than 114 pitches in his seven-plus innings of work, and lasting that deep into the game was a key to Chapman's fortunes.

"It's really important, because first of all, it sets a good tone for the entire team – that in the first game, if you throw a complete game … or you get deep in the game, so that way we can keep winning and space our pitching out and get ourselves deep in the tournament," Drag said.

The Panthers had to overcome an early deficit, as the teams played even baseball early. Tied at 2-2 in the fourth inning, Marietta's Ryan Eschbaugh stroked a two-run double to right-center, giving the Pioneers the lead.

But Chapman battled back in the fifth, scoring three runs. Tyler Dean stroked his second double of the game, and 20th of the season, to drive in a run, and after an intentional walk to load the bases, Patrick Ohail hit a two-run single. Dean reached base all five times he came to the plate. In addition to his two doubles, he walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

Chapman added insurance runs late, scoring a run on a double by Kyle Redding in the seventh and plating two runs on singles by Redding and Stuart Hyman in the eighth. Hyman went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the game, while Redding went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Marietta starter Tim Knowlton struck out four in 5.1 innings of work, with Nate Eschbaugh and Tyler Penwell pitching in relief.

Danny Jones had three hits for the Pioneers, while Ryan Eschbaugh had a double and triple. Justin Merryman, Brennan Cribbins and Cameron Cimino also had two hits each.

Chapman took the lead in the opening inning, as a double by Hyman plated a run, but Marietta answered with a run-scoring double by Tony Piconke in the bottom of the frame. In the second, Marietta's Merryman doubled and scored on a single by Cimino, but Chapman answered with a run-scoring single by Hyman in the third.

By Don Stoner
Augsburg College Sports Information Director