Baseball 2010 Season Preview

If there was one thing the Chapman University baseball team proved in 2009, it was that championship programs are built for the long run.

Throughout the season, the Panthers struggled to fill the departures of players in key positions and dealt with the loss of their pitching ace due to injury. The result was Chapman losing 14 games in the regular season - six more than the Panthers lost in the previous two years combined. Yet Chapman just snuck into the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the West thanks to a tough strength of schedule and 26 wins.

"Where we fell down early in the season was our pitching," said Chapman head coach Tom Tereschuk. "We had the best closer in the nation (Kurt Yacko) drafted the year before and then our ace (three-time All-American Wayde Kitchens) was hurt and missed the second half of the season.

"We had to scratch and claw for every win last year. You just don't fill those holes right away."

However, Tereschuk's squad was built for the long haul and not only did the Panthers win their fifth consecutive West Region title - going undefeated through the regional tournament - they went on to place third at the NCAA Division III championships.

This season the Panthers have more holes to fill. The 3-4-5 hitters from a Chapman lineup that hit .340 and averaged nearly eight runs per game is gone and only one of the team's top five hitters (in terms of batting average) returns. Yet when you talk to Tereschuk, he has no concerns. He's been through it before.

"At this point in the season you just don't know who's going to be productive," said Tereschuk. "We didn't know last year that certain guys would produce like they did. We'll have a very good offense, we just don't know which guys it's going to be."

Tereschuk does return a very reliable crop of hitters that will stabilize the lineup. Senior outfielders and table-setters Ryan Prechtl and Ryan Hall will secure the top and bottom of the batting order with high on-base percentages and speed. While Hall is a career .327 hitter, Prechtl put together his most productive season in 2009 with a .376 OBP, 10 stolen bases and 56 runs scored. An additional surprise was the increase in his power numbers with seven home runs and 19 extra-base hits.

Junior second baseman Tyler Hadzinsky had a breakthrough year in his first season as a starter with a .376 average and led the team with 18 doubles and four triples.

One unlikely addition to the offensive mix has been senior Matt Luzar. The right-hander who compiled a 10-9 record with four complete games as a spot starter in his first three seasons with the Panthers, will assume duties at first base to start the year and bat in the middle of the lineup.

"Matt has a good swing and good power," said Tereschuk. "He's made the transition now where before he was strictly a pitcher for us, to now he's probably going to be strictly a position player."

Another senior who will play a big role this season is catcher Joe Lehman, who batted .301 in 2009. Tereschuk describes the backstop as a guy who "doesn't wow you, but who's very consistent and reliable" and a solid leader for his young pitching staff.

Offense aside, Chapman's bread and butter for years has been its pitching and defense. And though the pitching struggled for a good portion of 2009, the Panthers' arms race hopes to come back strong this year.

Junior right-hander Jordan Sigman anchors the staff with 19 victories over the past two seasons. Although his career ERA is hovering above five, he's been a consistent winner for the Panthers and will serve as the team's ace this season.

"Sigman knows how to compete and how to pitch," said Tereschuk. "Last year he did a good job of holding our pitching staff together. This year we've seen more growth from him."

The rest of the innings will come from a handful of new faces. Tereschuk is extremely high on a talented crop of freshmen arms, many of whom will be asked to contribute a large number of innings in 2010.

"We have an outstanding group of freshmen pitchers that are right on par with some of the dominating guys we've had here in the past," said Tereschuk.

Add to the mix a junior college transfer, Kevin Dwyer from Grossmont College and Chapman feels very comfortable with the prospects once again being one of the top pitching schools in the nation.

Tereschuk says that he doesn't think about the five-straight West Region championships, or the prospects of winning a sixth. Just as the Panthers did last year, they will take it one game at a time, fight through the rigors of a 40-game schedule, and hopefully survive to play in the postseason. When they get there, the Panthers have proven they know how to win.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director