Matt Masciangelo leads college baseball in hit by pitches by a very large margin after just one day. Barring a similarly bizarre run elsewhere in the country, it is going to take everyone else a few weeks to catch up.
Masciangelo, a fifth-year junior at Sacramento State, was hit seven times in his first eight at-bats of the 2024 college baseball season. It was pretty remarkable!
The 5-foot-11 outfielder began his career at Mesa Community College in 2020. He then played two years at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in 2021 and 2022, and transferred to CSU Bakersfield for 2023.
Now, in his first year with the Hornets, he is 0-for-1 with a run scored and an RBI in eight at-bats over two games. Matt Masciangelo is a ball magnet.
He leads college baseball in HBP.
Sac. State played a doubleheader against LMU on Friday afternoon and evening. Here is how it went:
- Matt Masciangelo:
- GAME 1
- Bottom 3rd — Hit by pitch
- Bottom 5th — Hit by pitch
- Bottom 7th — Hit by pitch
- GAME 2
- Bottom 2nd — Fly out
- Bottom 4th — Hit by pitch
- Bottom 6th — Hit by pitch
- Bottom 7th — Hit by pitch
- Bottom 8th — Hit by pitch, RBI
- GAME 1
That was it. Masciangelo was hit by three pitches in three at-bats during a 4-0 loss to begin the year. He was hit by four pitches in five at-bats during a 12-10, 11-inning loss in a game that started 30 minutes after the first game concluded.
Whatever it is that leads Masciangelo to get hit by so many pitches seems to be working, whether it’s intentional or not. He gets on base!
Masciangelo sets up on the inside-most edge of the batter’s box. That, coupled with early-season pitching on the WCC/WAC level, led to the most unique opening day of all-time.
While nobody has confirmed it for certain, Masciangelo set a record for most hit-by-pitches on Opening Day and leads the country in the category.