SPARTANBURG, S.C. – It was a chilly Friday evening at Duncan Park, but right-hander Ricky Montalvo turned up the heat as the Chapman Panthers blanked the Spartanburg Vikings by a 3-0 tally.
The Panthers were staked to a 2-0 lead after three frames due to a pair of RBI singles from Walt Waddell and Jacob Murray, respectively. “That’s who we’ve got to be,” Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro said, in reference to getting contributions throughout the lineup. “Our motto is that we’ll win by any means necessary on offense. If it takes bunting them over, a single, a hit and run. It doesn’t matter if it’s young guys or veterans on the team, the motto stays the same. I’m super excited about the way that they played.” Montalvo, a junior in his first season on varsity, closed out the game by striking out four of the last six batters he faced. He struck out seven on the night, while scattering three hits (all in the first three innings) en route to the shutout. Through 10 innings pitched (two starts) on the campaign, Montalvo has tallied a whopping 17 strikeouts with just three hits allowed. “We’re super excited about Ricky,” Fusaro exclaimed. “He’s a guy that is starting to figure out how special he truly is and he’s not there yet. That’s the scary part is the ceiling for him is unbelievable. It’s just a matter of getting him to see himself like the rest of us see him. When he does, he’s going to be as good as anybody we’ve ever had and I’ll put him up against anyone in the state.” GAME TWO – Spartanburg 2, Chapman 0 In the second game of the twinbill, the host Vikings turned to southpaw Kemper Nix, who kept the Panthers off-balance through the game. Nix went the distance on the mound, picking up eight strikeouts while yielding just two hits and one walk. That enabled Spartanburg to salvage a split of the twinbill. The Vikings drove in both or their runs in the third inning, driving them in on a Will Holmes RBI single and a Elliar Sanchez sacrifice bunt. "That (game) right there was a learning experience for us," Fusaro stated. "The approach needed to be different, facing a pitcher like (Nix). We challenged them on the bus ride over here to get better every time they step on the field... We'll make sure next time in a game like this to get that third run and make sure we win it." Chapman (1-1) will open Region 3-3A play next week against the Woodruff Wolverines (location TBA). SPARTANBURG, S.C. – It was a battle on Monday evening at Duncan between a pair of Region 3-3A foes as Union County faced the Chapman Panthers in the final game for both clubs as part of this year’s Steve Sanders Preseason Tournament.
In the end, it was Union County that emerged victorious, out-slugging the Panthers by a final margin of 23-10 in six innings. Union County staked themselves to a 14-6 lead through three innings of play, but Chapman continued to claw their way back into the contest. Jacob Murray opened the Panthers’ half of the fourth inning by hammering a 2-2 offering over the left field wall. Chapman added two more runs in the frame with a pair of walks, a wild pitch, and a Jarren Metcalf RBI single, which cut the deficit down to 14-10. Unfortunately, that proved to be as close as the Panthers could get as Union County tacked on nine runs over the final two frames to build a double digit advantage. For the tournament, Chapman finishes with a 2-2 mark, notching victories over Walhalla and Boiling Springs. Next up for the Panthers will be their regular season opener on March 16th, when they play host to the Spartanburg Vikings. -Justin Mathis On Saturday morning, a play at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning helped Chapman defeat Boiling Springs 8-7 to start the second day of the Steve Sanders preseason tournament in exciting fashion.
Boiling Springs, the preseason ranked #2 team in 5A, was trailing Chapman, the #3 ranked team in 3A, by one run with runners at first and second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Bulldogs hitter Tristan Smith singled to left field. On the crack of the bat the Bulldogs runners were off and as the lead runner rounded third base Chapman left fielder Walt Waddell scooped up the hit and made a spot on throw to home plate that just beat the sliding Boiling Springs runner to grab the victory for the Panthers. "We love playing people like Boiling Springs because it makes us better," said Chapman head coach Steve Fusaro. "I have a ton of respect for those guys over there and if we're going to get to where we want to be, a state championship contender, we need to see the absolute best and I thought we saw that today. I also think people got to see our best as well which is fun." Chapman got the first run of the game after right fielder Ethan Fortenberry scored from third on a single by third baseman Jake Murray to put the Panthers up 1-0 after the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs responded in the bottom half of the inning when left fielder Avery Stewart singled and then scored on a Chapman error to tie the game at 1-1. Both teams traded runs over the next two innings as the teams were tied at 3-3 when the third inning came to an end. After holding Chapman scoreless in the top half of the inning Boiling Springs took the biggest lead of the game when they scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning as Steward, catcher Vance Wagner, third baseman Hudson Wilson all crossed home plate to take a 6-3 lead. The Panthers responded with two runs in the top of the fifth when Jake Murray scored on a errant Bulldogs throw and Johann Rodriguez, who reached on a single, scored on a double by first baseman Cason Owens to put the Bulldogs lead at 6-5. Boiling Springs responded with a score in the bottom of the fifth inning when centerfielder Luke Compton scored from third base on a double down the left field line by Jamison Bagwell to put the Bulldogs lead at 7-5. In the bottom of the fifth inning the Panthers brought in Banks Atkins to pitch and the run in the fifth inning was the only run he allowed for the rest of the game. In the top of the sixth inning the Panthers took advantage of some Bulldogs mistakes in the field as they scored three runs on one hit with the only hit coming on a double to left field by Atkins. "We've known Banks for a long time and we've missed him the last two years out here," said Fusaro. "Every person on this team has talked to him about being out here this year because we knew the kind of impact he could have and I'm glad he got to see that today. He's a special young man and we're glad he's a part of our team." Chapman finished the second day of play in the Steve Sanders tournament 1-1 after defeating Boiling Springs but later falling 5-1 to Mauldin. BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. – For the first time in 357 days, it was finally time for baseball in the Upstate as Chapman clashed with Walhalla in the first game of the Steve Sanders Preseason Tournament.
A trio of Chapman pitchers stole the show, tossing a combined one-hitter on the way to a 7-0 victory over the Razorbacks. Right-hander Ricky Montalvo set the tone early on for the Panthers, striking out six of the first nine Walhalla hitters that he faced. Montalvo tossed five solid innings, notching a game-high 10 strikeouts for the Panthers. “Everybody knows that we have a young team,” Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro said. “We’re not using that as an excuse because we have some guys that can play the game. It starts with Ricky – he came out there and gave us an unbelievable outing today that set the tone.” “I felt really good out there,” Montalvo stated. “I talk to myself a lot about pounding the zone with strikes, being consistent, and then go from there. It was great to finally play baseball again.” Banks Atkins tossed a flawless sixth inning, which sent it back to the top of the Walhalla order in the seventh. With one out in the seventh inning, the Razorbacks broke up the bid for a perfect game with a double to left field. Chapman reliever Jacob Cogdell answered by tallying a flyout to second and a strikeout to end the contest. At the dish, second baseman Jarren Metcalf went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles in his first varsity start, which fittingly occurred in the tournament that his grandfather (Bill Metcalf) helped create. Jacob Murray also scored two runs and Johann Rodriguez drove in two runs for Chapman. Mauldin 5, Boiling Springs 0 In the nightcap, it was a scoreless duel until the top of the fifth inning, when the Mavericks sent eight men to the plate and drove across three runs. Mauldin added two more runs in the sixth innings. Boiling Springs had a pair of early scoring opportunities, once in the first inning and another in third inning, but couldn’t convert, stranding five combined runners in those two frames. Southpaw Tristan Smith settled in and tossed four scoreless innings for the Bulldogs. Here is the Saturday schedule for the Steve Sanders Tournament at Boiling Springs HS: 9 AM – Chapman vs Boiling Springs 11:30 AM – Chapman vs Mauldin 2 PM – Walhalla vs Boiling Springs 4:30 PM – Walhalla vs Mauldin |
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