Business as usual: Chapman baseball claims sixth consecutive postseason berth

The Panthers defeated the Pomona Pitzer Sagehens 5-2 to clinch a spot in the postseason, a satisfying turnaround after a questionable start to the season. Photo courtesy of Grant Manning

It was a bright and stunning Friday afternoon for Chapman University’s baseball team to claim their sixth consecutive postseason berth, riding the cool breeze that passed through Hart Park and cruising to victory against Pomona Pitzer 5-2.

Ryan Nopper, a freshman business administration major, is a shortstop for the baseball team. Nopper said that even with a perplexing 3-7 start to the season, players weaved together their success over time, racking up series wins and never doubting the foundation of the team: defense.

“Our bread and butter is our pitching and defense, and I think if we can rely on that we can hopefully get the hitting going and everything will follow as is,” Nopper said. “Things are really starting to gel right now, and the team is looking pretty good.”

What a perfect time to gel together with the playoffs right at the team’s doorstep.

The bleachers were filled with spirited family and friends, cheering on the Panthers as they put up a spectacular defensive performance and let the bats cook in the most opportune times.

Starting pitcher Grant Manning, a senior business administration major, found himself in grim circumstances at the top of the first inning. With one out and the bases loaded, Pitzer’s second baseman Caleb Millikan, fifth in the batting order, was salivating at the chance to score.

But Manning, in his calm demeanor on the mound, stared down the batter. His first pitch to Millikan led to a ground ball, turning into a double play and relieving the crowd of a nightmare start to the game.

Manning said that in this sticky situation, he was looking to make a game-changing pitch, even with the bases loaded. He found this pitch on more than one occasion.

“I (needed) to be able to get the outs, ground balls, the double plays (and) the strikeouts in order to get out of those (tough) situations,” Manning said. “It was really tough and definitely very mentally and physically taxing to be able to go through those long innings while still being able to get out of it. But it made it all the more rewarding when I was able to get through six innings like that.”

Speaking of first pitches, senior left fielder Brad Shimabuku knocked a single into left field on Pitzer pitcher Harry Deliyannis’ first throw. Then, senior third baseman Cole Minato hit a sacrifice bunt, advancing Shimabuku to second base. The Panthers needed one more quality hit, and first baseman AJ Anzai hit a single into center field, sending Shimabuku home and putting the Panthers up 1-0. 

Anzai, a junior business administration major, said that the team’s hot start flipped the advantage to their side, and they held onto a lead once they earned it.

“Within two more pitches, I hit an RBI single into left field,” Anzai said. “So right off the bat, we’re four to five pitches into the game and we already scored one run. So just from the get go, I would say that got the momentum back on our side and Grant never let them get it back after that.”

The next sixth innings became a pitching and defensive clinic for the Panthers. Batters for Pitzer were kept at bay, and even with multiple runners in scoring position, they were neutralized by slow rolling groundouts and strikeouts. 

Manning said he concentrated on throwing sliders and his personal favorite, the changeup. Once Pitzer’s batters were tamed by these pitches, Manning adjusted his pace with the fastball.

“I was really happy and fortunate about my day, and eventually when it got late into the game, they started sitting on my off-speed (pitch) a lot more,” Manning said. “And so that’s actually when, towards the end of the outing, I threw more fastballs to be able to pick up the pace (and) to blow (the pitches) by a couple of guys. So it was a really fun (game) to be part of.”

At the top of the sixth with Pitzer having runners at second and third, Manning got Deliyannis to swing and miss. The crowd erupted in a great roar, marveling at the shutout performance of Manning.

Manning and the defense were rewarded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. 

Minato was hit by a pitch and got himself to first base. Up next was Anzai, and again he was the ignition for the offense. Anzai hit a double that sneakily shot down the first baseline, which had Minato rounding the bases to earn Chapman their second run.

Pitzer’s defense began feeling the pressure, evident by a crucial error where catcher Kai Osaka hit a bunt and an errant throw to first base got Osaka to second base and Anzai to score.

The crowd thought Pitzer lost a grasp on the game, but the Sagehens begged to differ. 

In the seventh inning, Chapman brought junior business administration major and pitcher Turner White in to replace Manning. Pitzer scored two runs as a response: on a groundout to second base by right fielder Nate Jakobs and on a single to center field by designated hitter Jack Colton. 

Pitzer initiated their own pitching change at the bottom of the seventh and got pitcher Hannoh Seo into the game. Nopper hit a single to left field. Shimabuku hit a sacrifice bunt and Minato hit a sacrifice fly to get Nopper to third.

And oh, what a surprise. Anzai was up next to bat. To prevent the game from bursting open, Seo intentionally walked Anzai, which was met by the booing of a crowd that was thrilled to see Anzai work his magic.

“That was the point where we knew we needed to make our mark because they were giving in a little bit. They weren’t (in) attack mode,” Anzai said. “We had a guy on third with two outs, and I was up to bat, and instead of pitching to me and letting me hit, they were giving in, and they said, ‘I don’t want to throw to you. Put him on first.’”

Disappointment soon turned into surprise and bewilderment. Osaka stepped up to the plate, and Seo threw a wild pitch that bounced off catcher Matthew Nishimura, another error that got Nopper to score.

White did not despair after giving up two runs in the seventh inning. He settled in with a quick 1-2-3 eighth inning. Chapman added on one more run in the bottom of the eighth with a Nopper single to right field that got pitcher and junior business administration major Henry Chabot to score.

Nopper topped off his performance in the game with an RBI, which was icing on the cake because he said that his style of play revolves around simply getting into scoring position.

“As for my style of play, I just need to get on base. I’m a fast guy, and I’m trying to get runs in,” Nopper said. “So it’s huge for me to get on base and do what I can and have the guys behind me score me (in for a run).”

Chabot got the save in the ninth inning, and the Panthers won 5-2. Chapman’s standout players were Anzai who finished with one run, two hits and two RBIs, and Nopper who finished with one run, three hits and an RBI. Manning allowed six hits and zero runs.

Defense won the game, and infielders backed up Manning’s pitching performance with a handful of double plays. Manning said that Nopper was a standout this game, not just offensively, but also with his diligent play at shortstop.

“(Nopper has) gotten a lot more used to the speed of the game and has gotten a whole lot better with his mentality, being able to really emerge himself as the defensive leader,” Manning said.

The Panthers will play their last series against California Lutheran University, who is 21-13 on the season and 15-6 in conference play. 

This will be one of the Panther’s toughest series to finish the season, especially because there is a high likelihood that Cal Lutheran will also make the playoffs. Anzai said that the team needs to copy their performance against Pitzer in order to defeat teams like Cal Lutheran and other upcoming opponents in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) tournament.

“We need to focus on our pitching and defense just like this series,” Anzai said. “I think if we pitch well and if we play the defense that we did (like) this weekend, we’ll be able to beat anybody. The hitting will come and go, but it’s always the defense and pitching where I know we can be (great). We’ll be just fine.”

The Panthers will play at Cal Lutheran in a three-game series that will begin on May 5 at 3 p.m. Tune into the SCIAC Network to catch all the action.