Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – Brian Rauh threw 5.0 innings surrendering two hit baseball as he led No. 2 Chapman to a 10-4 win over Whittier on Friday afternoon at Hart Park.
Rauh who was 2010's NCBWA Division III Pitcher of the Year came into today's contest 22-0 in his career at Chapman and he finished today's contest with six strikeouts, while exciting the game having allowed just two hits in his season debut.
Whittier's senior Ryan Schwenn (0-1) started the game off outdueling Rauh striking out the side in the first inning and then coming out to sit down the middle of the lineup in the second. But the third became an inning he would like to forget as he surrendered four runs off of a single from Mark Saatzer and a double from Tyler Surnbrock.
Schwenn pitched 5.0 innings giving up 10 hits and seven runs with three being earned to go with five strikeouts.
Over the next two innings of work, Chapman (No. 2 D3baseball.com) tacked on two more insurance runs to extend their lead. In the sixth, freshman Chris Sekiguchi got hit by a pitch and freshman Christian Loera advanced him to third on a base knock to right and then scurried into second on the throw. After a passed ball that got Sekiguchi in, senior Pete Mitchell stepped up and hit a dribbler to the third baseman who was unable to come up with the bare handed throw allowing Mitchell to drive in the Poets second run of the contest.
In the seventh, Whittier again tacked on two more runs as James Stafford led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and then advancing to second on a passed ball. Alex Mitchell then stepped up and hit a single up the middle advancing Stafford to third and then Cory Goodchild struck a double down the right field line driving in Stafford and Mitchell giving the Poets life.
But this would be the only offense Whittier could muster as they went down in order in the eighth and ninth allowing Chapman to preserve the six run win.
Mitchell finished the game going 2-5 with a run, while Loera finished 2-4 with a run. Andrew Vallejo who was named 1st Team All-SCIAC last season along with being tagged a Div. III All-West Regional Player was shut down at the plate by the Chapman pitching staff striking out three times but was able to drive a double to deep right center field sparking the Poet offense in the third.
The Poets and Panthers will resume their three-game set tomorrow with a twin bill in Whittier, Calif. with games scheduled for 11am and 2pm.
