GRAND CHUTE, Wisconsin -- Chapman simply wouldn't go away.

After staving off elimination by scoring three runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against Emory two days earlier, the Panthers swept two games from previously unbeaten Christopher Newport -- the final by a 15-7 count -- to win the Division III Baseball Championship May 27 at Fox Cities Stadium.

Chapman garnished its championship with convincing victories against the Captains on the tournament's final day. In the first game, the Panthers pounced, winning, 15-2, by silencing Christopher Newport's previously potent bats. Pitching -- Chapman's main weapon -- overpowered hitting in that battle.

The triumph forced a second game with the Captains, but momentum was clearly on Chapman's side. After being down to its last strike against Emory, Chapman was in no mood to leave the final game to chance.

"We all believed we could do this," Chapman shortstop Brian Sanders said.

The Panthers became the third team in Division III history to win the title by sweeping two games on the tournament's final day. Montclair State last accomplished the feat in 2000.

Chapman head coach Tom Tereschuk, in his first season at the helm, led the Panthers to consecutive wins over George Fox in the regional round to earn a trip to the final series. His team turned in a dominant performance in a tough environment in the opening game.

A crowd of 3,868 -- a single-game record for the championship -- watched Chapman's 6-1 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh, which hosted the tournament along with Lawrence University. The crowd of 1,484 for the championship game pushed the series attendance to 29,543, shattering the record of 19,575, set last year.

"We had complete confidence from the start," Tereschuk said. "They never wavered in their faith, and they kept after it."

Pitching certainly was Chapman's calling card -- the Panthers had four pitchers with a 2.21 earned run average or less coming into the championship. However, in the two games against Christopher Newport, the Panthers (39-12) scored 30 runs and pounded out 40 hits. Chapman slapped 24 hits, a season high, in the title game.

"For a team that supposedly pitches it pretty good, they hit it pretty good, too," Christopher Newport head coach John Harvell said.

After being routed in the first game, it appeared as though the Captains had righted the ship. Chapman jumped ahead, 4-2, thanks in part to Matt Graves' two-run double, but Christopher Newport rallied in the bottom half of the frame. Matt Turner led off with a homer, and the Captains took advantage of two walks, plating three runs to grab a 5-4 lead.

The Panthers scored two more in the fourth and fifth, and Graves smacked a solo homer in the sixth to give Chapman a 9-7 lead heading into the seventh.

"It's hard to play catch-up all the time," Harvell said. "(Chapman) flat-out swung the bats today."

The Panthers clinched the championship with five runs in the seventh, using five hits, including a two-run single by Shaun Donahoe and a two-run double by Sanders. The Panthers added another run in the eighth to complete the scoring. Alex Taylor, who was named the most outstanding player in the series, drove in the final run with a double.

"I thought we were loose as we can be," said Sanders. "I think we had the advantage today. They were nervous."

Game No. 1

Joey Serfass and Jeff Funaro; Matt Reppert, Jon Pallone (9) and Chris Peters. W -- Serfass. L -- Reppert. T -- 2:06. A -- 1,535.

Game No. 2

Matthew Palmer, Will Carr (7) and Adam Schorr; Greg Cauble and Kyle Rayl. W -- Cauble. L -- Palmer. T -- 2:04. A -- 1,733.

Game No. 3

Kevin Tidmarsh, Kyle Cox (8) and Andrew Fries; Mike Cosby, Eben Brower (8) and Scotty George. HR -- Chris Phaup (Chris. Newport) and Jason Moody (Chris. Newport). W -- Cosby. L -- Tidmarsh. S -- Brower. T -- 2:18. A -- 1,969.

Game No. 4

Ben Huffman, Andy Kraus (8) and Korey Feiner; Ryan France, Scott Akamine (8) and Matt Graves. W -- France. L -- Huffman. S -- Akamine. T -- 2:29. A -- 3,868.

Game No. 5

Chris Ross, Tim Gombar, Jeff Hurley and Chris Peters; Reed Harvey, Steve Zaychik, John Illius and Adam Schorr. W -- Harvey. L -- Ross. T -- 2:19. A -- 1,476.

Game No. 6

Brian Gerl, Andy Kraus (2), Jeremiah Gowey (2), Phil Glinski (3) and Korey Feiner; Chris Rodday, Matthew Krant (5), Kyle Cox (7), Craig Tredenick (8) and Andrew Fries. W -- Glinski. L -- Krant. T -- 3:11. A -- 2,243.

Game No. 7

Kevin Nichols, Clint Williams (7) and Kyle Rayl; Adam Czerwinski, Jeremy Hall (7) and Jeff Funaro. W -- Nichols. L -- Czerwinsk. S -- Williams. T -- 2:46. A -- 2,471.

Game No. 8

Jeff Green and Matt Graves; Cary Bruner, Steven Mingee (8), Jason Brown (8) and Scotty George. W -- Bruner. L -- Green. S -- Brown. T -- 2:33. A -- 2,532.

Game No. 9

Ryan DiPietro, Michael Maruska (9) and Jeff Funaro; Jim Ziegler, Andy Kraus (1), Jeremiah Gowey (3), Ryan Hermus (3), Jason Kral (4), Brian Gerl (8) and Korey Feiner, Eric Holdorf. W -- DiPietro. L -- Ziegler. T -- 3:04. A -- 2,259.

Game No. 10

Tom Mieczkowski, Will Carr (5), John Illius (9) and Adam Schorr; Jairo Ochoa, Scott Akamine (6) and Matt Graves. W -- Akamine. L -- Illius. T -- 2:33. A -- 2,321.

Game No. 11

Eben Brower, Jason Brown (12) and Scotty George; John Louden, Clint Williams (10) and Kyle Rayl. W -- Brower. L -- Williams. S -- Brown. T -- 2:45. A -- 2,403.

Game No. 12

Jairo Ochoa and Matt Graves; Greg Cauble, Ben Munce (7), Jaon Zagorski (7), Brandon Labus (9) and Kyle Rayl. W -- Ochoa. L -- Cauble. T -- 2:23. A -- 1,593.

Game No. 13

Brandon Haywood, Steven Mingee (8), Jason Brown (9) and Scotty George; Jeremy Hall, David Meeker (8) and Jeff Funaro. HR -- Marc Garofalo (Eastern Conn. St.). W -- Haywood. L -- Hall. S -- Brown. T -- 2:22. A -- 1,656.

Game No. 14

Jeff Green and Matt Graves; Mike Cosby, Ben Jarvis (5), Aaron Jaggers (9) and Scotty George, Charlie Hardie. HR -- Ricky Medina (Chris. Newport). W -- Green. L -- Cosby. T -- 2:54. A -- 1,484.

E -- Taylor; Gruber 3. DP -- Chris. Newport 4. LOB -- Chapman 10, Chris. Newpor 13. 2B -- Taylor, Graves, Sanders, Levering, Moody. 3B -- Van Camp. HR -- Graves, Turner. SB -- Elliott 5, Moody. SH -- Van Camp 2, George. SF -- Van Camp.

Chapman IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

Scott Akamine 9.0 9 7 5 5 6 40 47

W -- Akamine. L -- Bruner. WP -- Akamine, Bruner. PB -- George 2. HBP -- by Bruner (Castill); by Akamine (Turner). Umpires -- Home: Rick Lindquist; First base: Dennis Varweg; Second base: George Drouches; Third base: Gary Gilman. Time of game: 3:01. Attendance: 1,484.