Matt Masciangelo didn’t get many chances to make his first Sacramento State impression with his bat, but the left fielder still managed to get on base in seven of his eight plate appearances — all the result of hit-by-pitches — during a season-opening doubleheader against Loyola Marymount.
He was hit three times during the Hornets’ 4-0 loss in the first game, and then Masciangelo followed that by getting hit in four of his five plate appearances during their 12-10, extra-inning loss in the evening.
“After the third HBP in the first game, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation,” Masciangelo said postgame, according to MLB.Com. “It’s not every day you find yourself trotting to first base, multiple times, without swinging. I guess it was after that moment I realized this was completely ludicrous.
Matt Masciangelo reacts after getting hit by a pitch in Sacramento State's game against Loyola Marymount.Matt Masciangelo reacts after getting hit by a pitch in Sacramento State’s game against Loyola Marymount. Screengrab via X/@SacStBaseball
“I had four more balls unfortunately find me after that, but hey, I’ll take the on-base-percentage bump.”
Former Cubs first baseman Frank Chance, dating back to 1904, remains the only MLB player to get hit by a pitch five times across a doubleheader, according to MLB.Com, and the website added that Masciangelo would’ve tied the MLB record for most hit-by-pitches in a game — three — before breaking the mark in the Hornets’ second loss Friday.
The four hit-by-pitches in the second game also set a Sacramento State program record, according to the team.
Masciangelo was hit by a pitch in the third, fifth and seventh innings of the first Sacramento State game, and then he was plunked in the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings in the second matchup.
He even managed to record an RBI during his final plate appearance, as Masciangelo was hit with the bases loaded to give Sacramento State an 8-4 lead.