The 2024 NCAA baseball season has kicked off, and we already have news about a player who will surely go through a lot of ice packs this year. And it’s not even the end of the first weekend yet.
The Sacramento State Hornets began their season with a doubleheader against Loyola Marymount on Friday. It was also the debut of outfielder Matt Masciangelo for Sac State, having previously played at CSU Bakersfield.
Unfortunately, the Hornets lost both games, with scores of 4-0 and 12-10 in eleven innings. However, it was Masciangelo’s debut that caught everyone’s attention due to its peculiar nature.
Throughout both games, the junior from Huntington Beach stepped up to the plate eight times, but only one of those appearances made it onto the scoresheet.
That’s because he was hit by a pitch a total of seven times.
Yes, you read that right. Three times in the first game and four times in the second.
If this sounds unbelievable, Sac State actually tweeted a video showing Masciangelo getting hit by the ball more than seven times.
It’s worth mentioning that further investigation might be needed to understand this phenomenon. Not all of those pitches seemed intentional, so we should explore whether Matt Masciangelo possesses some sort of strange magnetic force that attracts baseballs. If that’s the case, he’s likely to suffer throughout the season, but his on-base percentage will be quite impressive.
Furthermore, what a remarkable way to make a positive impression on a new team by enduring so many hits and staying in the batter’s box. Matt Masciangelo truly exemplifies a team player.
Now, it’s evident that Masciangelo is leading the college baseball scene in hit-by-pitches, but what was the highest total last year?
It was 33, and the top spot was shared by LSU’s Gavin Dugas and George Mason’s Connor Dykstra.
Well, after just two games, Masciangelo is already more than one-fifth of the way to surpassing that record.
According to the Source outkick.com