Eight Panther pitchers shut down Eagles

ORANGE, Calif — The Chapman Panthers pitched their way to a 6-1 victory over the Bridgewater Eagles on Tuesday, Mar. 1 at Hart Park.

The Panthers were led by eight different pitchers, and while sophomore Hank Tobias earned the win, each arm kept the Eagles off the board. Chapman pitchers didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, and that contributed to the lone Bridgewater run.

Junior Davis Mielwocki started off the scoring for the Panthers in the first inning when he poked a single through the right side of the infield. That single scored graduate student Nick Kondo, and was the first run of the game.

Heading into the bottom of the fourth, Chapman looked to answer back, and regain the lead. They did just that. After senior Mike Gorman reached on an error, he made his way to third base. Kondo stepped up to the plate and drove him in on a groundout. Three batters later, Mielwocki singled to left, driving in junior Drew Littwin, who reached on a walk.

After three scoreless offensive innings, the bats woke back up in the eighth. Just like in the fourth, Gorman reached base, this time via walk. The following batter, sophomore Cole Minato, got hit by a pitch. AJ Anzai stepped to the plate with two down in the inning, and just like Minato, took first on a hit-by-pitch to load the bases.

With three runners on and two outs, it was a perfect time for Mielwocki and his 13 RBI's to step to the plate. The first baseman smoked a liner down the left field line scoring all three runs, sealing the win for the Panthers.

After the victory, Chapman improved to 4-3 on the season. Bridgewater fell to 7-4.

The Panthers play next on Friday, Mar. 4 against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in their first SCIAC game of the season. That game will be played at Hart Park, and is the opener of a three-game set that concludes with a double-header in Claremont on Saturday, Mar. 5.