by Zach Kaplan
Penn State University
June 13, 2018

COTUIT– Peyton Burdick (Wright State) just wanted to help out his team to a win on Opening Day.

He certainly wasn’t expecting to be the catalyst for the Kettleers, with one of the best opening day performances in recent Cape League memory, going 4 for 4 with three home runs and seven RBI’s.

“It was just about being simple today, going from metal to wood [bats]…Just gonna try to pick up tomorrow where I left off.”

Burdick, a redshirt sophomore from Batavia, Ohio, had a .347/.437/.569 slash line this past spring for the Raiders, hitting nine home runs and driving in 65 RBI’s. He also made his way on to the Horizon League First-Team, while being selected as the Horizon League Tournament MVP.

Peyton Burdick launches one of his three home runs on Tuesday, June 12, as the Kettleers defeated the Brewster Whitecaps 10-1 at Lowell Park.

As far as single game performances go, Burdick’s performance is pretty unparalleled. While there is no record of a performance like his on Opening Day, eight other players have hit three home runs in a game, with the most recent one in 2008.

Chris Dominguez (Louisville) who played for Hyannis at the time hit three home runs against Falmouth on July 9, 2008. Before him, Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas had three home runs for Orleans against Wareham back in 1988, according to the Cape League website and historian Bruce Hack.

What makes Burdick’s performance even more interesting is that each of those performances came in July. Burdick was able to tee off on Opening Day in June, something he’ll look to continue to do during his time in Cotuit.

Burdick is a temporary player at the moment for the Kettleers this season, but there’s no doubt he turned heads with his performance against Brewster. He’ll look to continue his hitting ways on Wednesday, as the Kettleers host Bourne at Lowell Park.