MADISON, NJ (May 7, 2023) – The Susquehanna baseball team took to the road for their final game of the regular season, visiting Drew for a makeup of their previously postponed third matchup of the year. The teams split the first two contests, but SU would claim the win in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon with an 8-6 victory.
The River Hawks took control right from the start, bringing eight batters to the plate in the top of the 1st and plating two runs on a single up the middle by Dylan Heyduk. They paired that with an ideal start to the game for Tyler Rigot on the mound, setting down the first three Drew batters in order, including two strikeouts. The lead doubled in the 2nd as the River Hawks added two more runs, putting together a two-out rally on the back of an RBI single from Tony Rossi, three walks, a failed pickoff attempt for Drew, and a perfectly executed double steal that scored Brock Veit.
After a pair of scoreless innings, SU added another run in the top of the 5th, all without needing a hit as they worked three straight walks and swiped two more bases. However, Drew finally broke through against Rigot in the bottom of the 5th and scored their first run after getting two doubles in the frame. Rigot would make way for Jason Stine, who induced the final out of the inning with runners on second and third, preventing further damage.
The 5-1 scoreline became 7-1 after Heyduk came up clutch once again, hitting another two-RBI single for bring his RBI tally to four on the day, matching his career-high. Lance Book would follow with a double, putting runners on second and third with one out, but an out at home on a fielder's choice and then a strikeout ended the rally for Susquehanna. Drew pieced together their own rally in the bottom of the 6th, leading off with a double, following it with a walk, and then getting another double to plate one run. An RBI groundout scored the second run of the inning and then a single through the left side scored a third, making the score 7-4.
A scoreless 7th inning made way for another SU rally in the top of the 8th, where a one-out single by Book and a walk for Christian Biuso set up a big-time pinch-hit opportunity for Michael Biuso, who came through with an RBI single to push the lead back up to four runs. The Rangers weren't ready to lie down though, putting together a comeback effort in the bottom of the inning with three-straight singles to start the frame. With the score now 8-5 and two runners on base, Dillan Weikel came in to do some relief work, his first non-start appearance of the season. He would work through the trouble well, seeing only one more run come home on a passed ball but striking out two batters to end the threat with the score 8-6. He then completed the save in the 9th by setting the Drew batters down in order.
Heyduk and Rossi both led the way for SU with big days at the plate, each picking up three hits and Heyduk's four RBIs leading the team, with Rossi getting one of his own. The team also worked a remarkable 15 walks in the game, including four for Christian Biuso and three for Veit and Sean McCulloch. They tallied eight stolen bases to bring their season total to 118, the 8th-best tally in all of DIII baseball.
The River Hawks will now turn their attention toward the postseason, where they have earned a place in the Landmark Conference Tournament after finishing fourth in the regular season with a 9-9 conference record, 22-17 overall. They'll open the double-elimination tournament against #1 seed Elizabethtown, who they'll face for the fourth time this year after three close losses against the Blue Jays in the regular season. That game will begin at 3:30 pm on Friday, May 12, hosted by the University of Scranton.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
