Despite an off year last season, in which the Panthers pitching staff accumulated an ERA close to four, Peters believes that his arms will be the strength of this 2001 team. Though it might not break any home run records in 2001, the Chapman lineup promises to be solid from top to bottom once again, thanks to another well-balanced recruiting class of freshman and J.C. transfers. We were a whisker away from playing for a national championship last year, says Peters, whose team finished third at last year s World Series and is ranked sixth in the ABCA Division III preseason poll. The best thing that came out of last year s finish was that we proved we could compete with the elite teams in the nation. Our goal, once again, is to get the playoffs, then play well once we get there.
Records don t mean anything at that point.
Before Chapman s season opener versus Azusa Pacific this Friday, the Panthers will dedicate a new scoreboard in memory of Matt O Brien, a pitcher on the 2000 team who was killed in a dirt bike accident in December of 1999. Last year, the O Brien family made a very generous donation to the Chapman baseball program to make the new scoreboard possible. Members of the 2000 Chapman baseball team will be in attendance, as well as several City of Orange officials. The Panther softball team loses the Division III national championship game for the third consecutive season. While it was flattering to be mentioned on the front page of the L.A. Times, head coach Janet Lloyd was not real quick to put any clipping with the word loses in her scrapbook.