WAYNE, N.J. (March 1, 2016) – The Drew University baseball team won its first game of the young 2016 season on Tuesday afternoon, 8-4, at William Paterson University with a complete team effort featuring hits by nine different Rangers.
 
Sophomore right fielder Ryan Sabbag finished a triple short of the cycle with his first career home run, a double and two singles. He finished 4-for-5 with a solo home run to lead off the top of the third inning. Senior first baseman Bobby Miskura batted 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
 
Senior southpaw Dylan Baxter picked up the win on the mound in his first start of the season. Baxter threw 6.2 strong innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and a walk before turning the ball over to an effective bullpen. Junior Tommy Broyles held the lead with a perfect 2.1 innings with three strikeouts to earn his first career save.
 
A pair of freshmen picked up their first career hits on Tuesday. Designated hitter Zach Lipshitz got the start and went 1-for-3 with a walk and run scored. Eric DiPietro only needed one at-bat to make a big first impression. He pinch hit in the seventh inning and recorded his first collegiate hit with a two-run double down the left field line, providing important insurance late in the game.
 
The Rangers (1-1) wasted little time in jumping ahead of the Pioneers (1-1). Drew smacked four hits in the first inning and received RBIs from Broyles and junior third baseman Jonathan Rodrigues as the Rangers led 3-0. WPU got one back in the bottom of the first, and another in the second.
 
The third inning began with Sabbag's solo shot over the left field fence that traveled over 350 feet. With a 4-2 lead, Baxter retired nine out of the next 10 Pioneers at the plate. WPU again cut the Drew lead to one run in the bottom of the sixth, when the Rangers avoided further trouble by ending the inning with a lineout double play started by Rodrigues at third.
 
Drew broke it open in the seventh with a three-hit, three-run frame led by DiPietro's pinch-hit double and a sacrifice fly by Miskura.
 
Baxter exited the game in the seventh after giving up William Paterson's fourth run with two outs. Broyles came on and was untouchable on the bump for the remaining seven outs. Sophomore shortstop Isaiah Mateo put an exclamation point on the victory by scoring a run in the ninth. The speedy sophomore (1-for-2, 2 walks, 2 runs) worked a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice and later scored on a wild pitch for the 8-4 lead.
 
The Rangers' next contest will be in the Sunshine State on Sunday, March 6. Drew opens Florida Gulf Coast Spring Training with a doubleheader against Penn State University-Behrend at noon from the Lawnwood Sports Complex in Fort Pierce, Fla.