ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (May 6, 2017) – Timely hits, shutdown pitching and flawless defense led the Drew University baseball team to a 2-1 win at Elizabethtown College on Saturday and clinched a berth in the 2017 Landmark Conference Championship.
 
The Rangers improve to 26-12 on the year and further extend the school record for wins in a season, while also upping their road record to 7-2. The Blue Jays fall to 22-14 with a loss at Boyd Stadium, where they are now 9-5 this spring.
 
Playoff Picture: Catholic, Susquehanna and Drew (11-5) have all clinched a spot in next week's double-elimination tournament at the home of the No. 1 seed. The Rangers are still alive for the No. 1 spot if Catholic loses its final game to Moravian (pickup of a suspended game with Catholic trailing 1-0 in the fifth), and Drew wins its final two games at Elizabethtown on Sunday.
 
Top Performers
• Senior starting pitcher Ryan Fitzpatrick earned his seventh win on the mound, which is tied for second all-time for a single season in Drew history. The captain hurled eight innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out three.
• Senior closer Tommy Broyles recorded his third save over the last four Landmark games with a scoreless ninth. With the pressure on and tasked with protecting a one-run lead, Broyles worked around a two-out base hit and closed the door on his fifth save and a second consecutive conference playoff berth for Drew baseball.
• In the pitcher's duel, every run was crucial. Junior second baseman Isaiah Mateo and senior right fielder Mike DiDonatoprovided the RBIs, while DiDonato also scored a run.
 
The Difference: After allowing back-to-back singles with one out in the seventh, Fitzpatrick buckled down and retired the final five batters of his outing. Meanwhile, senior third baseman Jonathan Rodrigues walked to lead off the visiting half of the eighth and following a fielder's choice and a sacrifice bunt by Broyles, Rodrigues scored the go-ahead run when DiDonato put the ball in play and reached on an error by the E-town third baseman.
 
Highlights
• The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. DiDonato singled ahead of senior center fielder Marc Cohen moving him to third with a one-out base hit. Mateo followed with an infield single down the first baseline to plate the first run of the game.
• Elizabethtown had the leadoff runner on in each of the first three innings, but failed to score until the fourth. A walk to the speedy Nick Bein, followed by a double by Brian Portillo scored Bein all the way from first to knot the game at 1-1.
• Drew did not commit a single error, and went above and beyond by turning two double plays in the infield.
 
Up Next: The Rangers conclude the regular season on Sunday, May 7 with a doubleheader at Elizabethtown