MADISON, N.J. (April 30, 2016) – The Drew University baseball team kept its playoff hopes alive with a doubleheader sweep of The University of Scranton on Senior Day Saturday at Doc Young Field.
 
The Rangers (17-21, 10-10) won Game 1 in walk-off fashion on freshman Eric DiPietro's RBI bunt single, giving Drew a 7-6 victory in the bottom of the 11^th inning. Drew followed up with a convincing 9-3 win in the second game to allow the Rangers to control their own destiny in the regular season finale on Sunday.
 
Playoff Picture: With the two wins, Drew leapfrogs the Royals (16-20, 9-11) and moves into the fourth and final Landmark Conference playoff spot with just one game to play. However, The Catholic University of America is now on the Rangers' tail with a doubleheader sweep of its own on Saturday. Another Catholic win in Sunday's finale would force Drew to win its finale against Scranton in order to make the playoffs. A Catholic loss would also result in Drew's playoff berth as the No. 4 seed.
 
Top Performers: Junior center fielder Richie Poland was 6-for-9 on the day with two runs and an RBI, sophomore right fielder Ryan Sabbag bat 3-for-9 with two runs and three RBIs, and junior Tommy Broyles finished the doubleheader 4-for-9 at the plate with two runs and two RBIs.
 
Broyles also got it done on the mound, throwing the final five frames in the extra-inning affair in Game 1 for the win. The junior gave up an earned run in the final scheduled inning of play in the seventh, then rebounded to allow zero runs and two hits over the next four innings to give the Rangers multiple chances to walk off with the win.
 
Turning Point: Down 4-3 in the sixth inning of the opener, senior first baseman Bobby Miskura laced a double over the left fielder's head to score two runs and hand Drew the 5-4 lead. Scranton then took the lead back in the top of the seventh, and down to its final out in the bottom half of the frame, freshman shortstop Zach Lipshitz delivered the game-tying RBI single up the middle to plate Poland, who singled earlier in the inning with one out.
 
As Broyles was mowing down Royal hitters in extra frames, Sabbag led off the 11^th inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman leftfielder Jayson Mitch (3-for-9, 1 run, 2 RBI). Another hit by Poland set runners up at the corners with one out, bringing up the freshman DiPietro. He placed a perfect bunt down the first base line to scored Sabbag for the walk off win.
 
Other Highlights: Drew's first of 16 runs on Saturday came from junior catcher Mike Miraglia's RBI single in the bottom of the first inning. Later down 4-1, junior third baseman Jonathan Rodrigues hit a sac fly in the fourth and Mitch ripped an RBI single to cut the Scranton lead to 4-3.
 
Junior left-hander Patrick Boyle was the bridge to Broyles in the important victory, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings with one hit and two walks allowed to go with three strikeouts.
 
In Game 2, Drew led 8-0 after two thanks to a six-run frame capped off by Rodrigues' RBI double. Broyles' first two at-bats in the nightcap went down as RBI singles as Drew took a comfortable lead.
 
Second baseman Anthony Feltre and pitcher Dylan Baxter also celebrated Senior Day with big moments. Feltre put together a 3-for-9 day at the plate with two runs scored, while Baxter earned the win in Game 2 by throwing 6.1 innings of three run ball (two earned), scattering six hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
 
Up Next: Weather permitting, the Rangers will conclude the three-game set against Scranton on Sunday, May 1 at noon.