It only took one at bat for Chapman’s hot bats to strike. Tyler Rogers smacked a 2-1 pitch to right-center field for a leadoff home run and an early Chapman lead. He has made some key adjustments at the dish ever since the start of the preseason. “I’ve just been confident in myself,” Rogers said. “Being able to stay content and smooth at the plate has been one of my top priorities with not trying to do too much. I didn’t care if it went out or if it was a bloop as long as I got on base. The home run was icing on the cake.” A dominant outing from Austin Parr and a late offensive outburst helped Chapman pick up their second win in region play by a final margin of 9-0. Parr settled in on the hill very quickly for the Panthers, keeping the Centurions off balance. He sat the Broome lineup down in order over the first three frames, including three straight strikeouts in the third. The senior right-hander tossed a gem, striking out 10 while yielding just one hit in six innings of work. “Locating the first strike was great,” Parr stated. “That really helped me out a lot tonight. Having that kind of offense behind you makes your job easier. You can just go out there and pitch while the offense does their thing.” Leading 2-0 entering the late innings, another senior provided a spark off of the bench. Ben Rollins entered the game in the sixth inning and hit a one out double to left-center, scoring Walt Waddell from second. In total, Chapman scored seven times in their last two turns at bat. “It’s been very unfortunate for Ben,” Fusaro stated. “We’re honestly just trying to take care of him. For him to be humble and to do the things he did tonight was just a testament to Ben and his spirit.” “It just felt great, like a sigh of relief,” Rollins admitted. “I love these guys to death – I’d do anything for them and they know that. I’ve been trying to give some encouraging words to Drew (Settle), who’s been holding down the fort very well at shortstop. I love these guys more than anything.” Ryan Hall continued his strong start to the season by driving in two more runs on Friday. That gives Hall six RBI over his last two games. Next up on the schedule for Chapman is a road game at Christ Church on Monday, March 16th at 7:30 PM. -Justin Mathis
For the second time in a four day span, Chapman and Greer collided on the baseball diamond at Yellow Jacket Field.
Some late inning heroics, coupled with an outstanding outing on the mound, helped Chapman rally from behind to pick up a 9-5 road victory in eight innings. After falling behind 4-0 early, Chapman pulled even in the sixth inning on two hits, two walks, and a Greer error. The Yellow Jackets pushed across a run to reclaim the lead, only to see an opposite field single by Austin Parr tie the game up again at 5-5. “Obivously, (Greer’s) pitcher was really good tonight,” Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro said. “Brock Myers came in and really dominated us for the first few innings. I thought that we had better at-bats the second time through (the order). Sometimes in baseball, you have to weather the storm and our guys did that tonight.” After a leadoff walk and sacrifice bunt to open the eighth, Paxton Tolleson stepped up to the plate and launched a 1-0 offering into the trees behind the left field wall, giving Chapman a two run lead. The Panthers picked up two more runs on a Jake Cothran single, making it a 9-5 contest. “I was frustrated with the first couple of at-bats,” Tolleson admitted. “I wasn’t putting the barrel on the ball like I know I can do. I knew I had another chance to bat, so I believed in what I can do, stayed true, and it worked out for me.” “Paxton had two at-bats in a row that were uncharacteristic,” Fusaro pointed out. “He knows he’s a leader and he knows that he is one of our best hitters. He had two situations early to get us back in the game, but things didn’t go his way. Right there in the eighth was his opportunity and he did what he does – he just comes through big.” Chapman’s Triton McSwain took to the mound in the fifth inning and threw four superb innings of relief, yielding only one run on five hits to pick up the win. “I was just trying to give the guys everything I had,” McSwain stated. “My focus was to fill up the strike zone with strikes and give my team the best opportunity (to win). I just trusted in my stuff and relied on the guys playing behind me.” Chapman now turns their attention to a Region II-3A matchup at Broome High School on Friday, March 13th at 7:30 PM. The Chapman Panthers baseball team hit the road to begin the 2020 regular season with a contest against the Greer Yellow Jackets, a series which has turned into a great matchup for the two schools over the past few seasons.
An offensive explosion and a strong effort by the pitching staff propelled the Panthers to a season-opening 11-3 win over Greer. Triton McSwain provided a spark at the dish with a leadoff double in the second inning, followed by a Walt Waddell single. Three batters later, Ryan Hall smacked an opposite field single to right, driving in both runners and staking Chapman to an early 2-0 lead. “I would say that is (Ryan’s) best offensive night,” Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro said. “Much like the rest of the guys, Ryan is a really humble dude. We’ve been talking a whole lot about his swing, trying to get some of the air out of it…we’ve challenged him to hit the ball hard on a line. Every time he’s done that this year, I’m pretty sure it’s been a hit. I’m very proud of the work and effort he’s put in.” “I was just thinking about hard line drives, sitting back and waiting on it,” Hall, the senior second baseman said. “I’ve been trying to not take too hard of a hack and being smooth. We’re like a big family – we’ve grown up playing baseball together. I think we’ll be fine this year.” Paxton Tolleson also drove in three runs, along with one RBI apiece from Nelson Crooke and Triton McSwain. On the mound, three Chapman pitchers – Nate Calloway, Walt Waddell, and Jacob Murray – put together a strong performance. They combined to scatter four Yellow Jacket hits while tallying six strikeouts on the ledger. Calloway, the Panthers’ senior southpaw, picked up the win. “Honestly, (the game) went about as well as we could have hoped,” Fusaro stated. “Nate comes out and does what Nate does – he gave us a quality opportunity to win this ball game. Walt’s a young guy and Ithink it’s pretty evident that he has a big time upside. Jacob is a supertalented guy. We just need him to be himself and not try to do too much. He’s as special as anybody.” Next up for Chapman is their Region 2-3A opener at Carolina on Tuesday, March 9th at 7:30 PM. |
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