By Jed Blackwell Sports Editor The Chapman Panthers battled to force a tiebreaker game in the Region II-2A baseball race on Friday night before falling to Chesnee 9-0 on Saturday. The Eagles claimed the championship as a result, with the Panthers taking second place. Both teams will open the playoffs on Thursday with home games. On Friday, Chapman took a 4-3 victory over the Eagles, finally solving the riddle of Brandon Henderson. Henderson had been perfect in three career starts against the Panthers before Friday's loss. "Friday night we had a tremendous effort," said Chapman head coach Kevin Carr. "It was about as good a game as you'll see between two teams with a history of battles." Chapman scored early to take the lead, something that Carr said was essential for the Panthers' confidence. "Getting a couple of runs early was a big key, because we haven't had much success off him. We just perservered and did what we had to do. I think we played well." The game was Carr's last regular season home contest, and he said he tried his best to keep his emotions from being a factor. "It was my last (regular season) home game, and the seniors' last game. I had all that in my mind, but they didn't they came to play." In Saturday's game, Chesnee's Dustin Sherbert handcuffed the Panthers, allowing no runs while the Eagle batters pounded out nine runs to take the region championship. "He just did a tremendous job on the mound against us," Carr said of Sherbert. "We got three hits early, but we really didn't hit the ball that well and we didn't score. When you don't score, it doesn't matter how many you give up." The Eagles did most of their damage in a single inning, a fact that Carr thought showed the character of his team. "We didn't quit," he said. "Any time you give up seven runs in an inning, you can turn right around and give up seven in the next inning, and we didn't do that. We showed character and we fought until the last out." Even though the ending was not what the Panthers wanted, Carr was still proud of his team's season. "I'm not disappointed in our year," Carr said. "We played well enough to finish tied for first, and we lost in a tiebreaker. I certainly don't think one inning was indicative of our season." The Panthers will now move on to the state 2A playoffs. They will host Pendleton in Thursday's first round, then move on to face either Batesburg-Leesville or Keenan on Saturday.