AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Senior third baseman Drew Metzdorf hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats in order from single to home run, becoming the first player in UMass Boston Baseball program history to hit the cycle as the Beacons won their second consecutive game, 9-4, in Florida over Ithaca College on Tuesday night.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 9, Ithaca College 4
UMass Boston (5-2)
Ithaca College (5-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Like against SUNY Brockport on Sunday, the Beacons wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the first inning with a line drive single from freshman outfielder Breon Parker and infield single from senior infielder Chris Ducko putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Coming to the plate with one out, Metzdorf lined a single up the middle to score Parker and Ducko, giving UMass Boston the 2-0 advantage.
Over the course of the second and third innings, Ithaca College would get those two runs back as an RBI single from junior infielder Ethan Rothstein in the second followed by an RBI double from junior outfielder Louis Fabbo tied the game back up at two.
The next two innings would see the Beacons respond with a pair of runs of their own when freshman outfielder Justin Goueveia's one-out fielder's choice gave way to a double from Parker in the fourth then following a Metzdorf triple in the fifth, senior first baseman Nick Palma's RBI single extended the UMass Boston lead back to two, 4-2.
Ithaca College would threat to score in the bottom half of the sixth, putting runners on second and third with one out against senior pitcher Thomas Kierce. Kierce would battle back against the bottom of the Bombers' order to force a strikeout and line out to Leavitt in left field to quell the threat.
Capping off the first cycle in UMass Boston Baseball program history, Metzdorf hit a towering fly ball over the left field wall which helped extend the Beacon lead to three runs, 5-2. A Ducko RBI single helped notch the sixth run of the evening for UMass Boston before the Bombers would once again look to get themselves back into the game.
Loading the bases up with one out, sophomore infielder Connor Pedersen attempted a double steal with Rothstein which led to Rothstein being caught in a rundown while Pedersen scored to give Ithaca College a run back. With graduate pitcher Josh Eastman on the hill with two outs and runners on the corner, the right-hander got sophomore infielder Riley Brawdy for the final out of the eighth as the Beacons clung to a 6-4 lead.
The UMass Boston offense would provide the necessary breathing room to earn their second straight victory as a big two-RBI double by senior infielder Gianni Zarrilli Jr. and an infield single for Parker gave the Beacons three insurance runs as Eastman set down the Bombers in the bottom of the ninth for the 9-4 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Drew Metzdorf finished the game 5-for-5 with the cycle along with another single and three RBIs as he earned the first cycle in UMass Boston Baseball history
- Nick Palma went 2-for-5 with an RBI, extending his hitting streak to seven games to start the season
- Senior infielder Aidan Blake's six-game hitting streak came to an end on Tuesday as the senior went 0-for-5 in the game
- When scoring in the first inning in Florida, UMass Boston is now 3-0 during their trip
- Head Coach Brendan Egyabroat notches his 399th career win and is now just one shy of reaching the 400-career win mark
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston faces off against Rowan University, ranked 11th in the recently released D3Baseball.com poll, tomorrow afternoon at the Lake Myrtle Complex with first pitch slated for 1:00 PM. The Beacons are 1-3 against the Profs, last playing them in Auburndale, Florida back in 2018 and dropping the matchup 10-4.