The Beacons have been nothing short of electric as of recently. On Saturday, April 15, the Beacons went up north to Keene, N.H., and took on the Keene State College Owls for a doubleheader (1). The result would be one of the Beacons’ best performances all season. 

The first game kicked off with second baseman Aidan Blake hitting a sacrifice fly, setting up the first run of the game. The Owls quickly responded with a three-run home run from Jonathan Chatfield, putting the Owls ahead 3–1. The third inning is where Drew Metzdorf’s big day began, as he hit a home run, cutting the lead to a single run (2). 

The Owls once again answered with a score of their own, making the score 4–2. The seventh inning saw Metzdorf do it again, crushing a home run to cut the Owls’ lead to one (3). Blake and Craig Corliss followed the homer with singles, and Nick Palma getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases up (2). 

Gianni Zarilli reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing for the Beacons to tie the game. Bostyn Burris came in as a pinch hitter and drove in another run, giving the Beacons their first lead since the first inning. Mariano Jiminez’s single and Breon Parker’s sacrifice fly extended the Beacon lead to three, finishing off a dominant inning (2). 

The Owls scored in the eighth, but Sam Gray closed out the comeback win for the Beacons, a 7–5 victory (2). The momentum from this incredible Beacon victory was expected to carry on into the second half of the doubleheader, but things started off pretty scary. In the blink of an eye, the Beacons were down 5–0 (4). 

Who else but Metzdorf to get the Beacons back in the game? Metzdorf launched a ball out of the park for a grand slam in the third inning. Blake followed that with a homer of his own, and a Burris single allowed the Beacons to take the lead. The Owls regained the lead in the fifth inning after a single, and a walk with the bases loaded (5).  

Going into the ninth inning, the Beacons were down 9–7. All the Owls had to do was close the game out, but they did not come prepared for the wild sequence coming their way. The Beacons managed to score eight runs in the ninth inning, with contributions from almost everybody. It was a rally like no other, and it resulted in an absolutely demoralizing loss for the Owls, with Gray closing out the 15–9 victory (4). 

Metzdorf had a week for the ages, managing to land a hit in eight out of fourteen at-bats in the four games that week, hitting an absurd .571 for the doubleheader. He hit three home runs, two doubles, a triple and drove in nine runs. Alongside his contribution with the bat in his hands, he managed to steal five bases as well (6). 

These comebacks would not have happened without Metzdorf, and his stellar performances have been acknowledged. Metzdorf was awarded LEC Player of the Week for his play—the first Beacon to do so this season (6). Metzdorf now leads the LEC in OPS with a rating of 1.236 and triples with seven (4). He also is second in the LEC in stolen bases with 20 (6). 

The Beacons seem to be catching fire, right when conference games are coming up. Currently, they are second in the conference, only behind Eastern Connecticut and the Warriors. Everybody should be keeping the Beacons on their radar, this team is capable of beating anybody that comes their way, and guys like Metzdorf are the reason why. 

Sources: 

1. https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/baseball/schedule

2. https://beaconsathletics.com/news/2023/4/15/baseball-erases-a-pair-of-deficits-behind-metzdorfs-big-day.aspx

3. https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/baseball/stats/2023/keene-state/boxscore/5203 

4. https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/baseball/stats/2023/keene-state/boxscore/5204 

5. https://beaconsathletics.com/news/2023/4/17/drew-metzdorf-named-little-east-conference-player-of-the-week-for-baseball.aspx 

6. https://littleeast.com/standings.aspx?path=baseball