MADISON, N.J. (May 2, 2016) – For the first time since its Landmark Conference title in 2012, the Drew University baseball team is making a return to the league's championship tournament. Faced with a win-and-in situation in the regular season finale, the Rangers convincingly beat The University of Scranton, 9-0, on Monday at Doc Young Field to clinch the No. 4 seed.
 
Playoff Bound: Drew will face top-seeded Susquehanna University in the Landmark semifinal best-of-three series beginning on Saturday, May 7 at 11:00 a.m. in Selinsgrove, Pa. Game 2 of the series, which features all nine inning games, takes place 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 1. Game 3 if necessary will be held on Sunday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m.
 
Susquehanna swept Drew in the regular season, winning the opener 6-5 in extra innings before following up with 8-0 and 6-4 wins to close out the series.
 
No. 3 Elizabethtown College will visit No. 2 Moravian College in the other semifinal series this weekend.
 
Top Performers: In his final career at-bat at Doc Young Field, senior first baseman Bobby Miskura roped his third career home run, a solo shot over the left-center field hedges for the 9-0 lead in the seventh inning to finish 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. It was the second Drew homer of the game after sophomore right fielder Ryan Sabbag belted a solo round-tripper of his own to begin the offensive onslaught in the second inning. Freshman shortstop Zach Lipshitz batted 2-for-4 with a two-run single to put the Rangers up 7-0 in the fifth.
 
Junior left-hander Patrick Boyle was called on to start the win-and-in contest, and he delivered the victory with six innings of scoreless baseball, allowing seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. With the first two Royal batters reaching base in the seventh, junior Ryan Fitzpatrick took over and escaped the inning without a run allowed. He hurled the final three frames without giving up a hit to go along with four strikeouts.
 
Turning Point: With the Rangers up 2-0 in the third, they kept the foot on the gas with junior designated hitter Tommy Broyles smacking a two-run double over the center fielder's head for the 3-0 advantage, a passed ball and a wild pitch later in the inning led to two more Drew runs. Meanwhile, Boyle didn't allow a hit in the fourth or fifth innings.
 
Other Highlights: Freshman left fielder Jayson Mitch increased his team-leading batting average to .342 with a 2-for-4 day, including the ninth double of his season. Also playing in his final game at Doc Young, senior second baseman Anthony Feltre recorded an RBI single in the fifth inning.
 
Launching Pad: With Miskura's first home run of the season, and Sabbag's fourth, Drew has totaled 14 round trippers this season, which now ranks sixth all-time for a single season in program history.