{"id":1812,"date":"2022-03-25T11:49:29","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T11:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/fmus-mattox-closing-in-on-ncaa-division-ii-record-scnow\/"},"modified":"2022-03-25T11:49:29","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T11:49:29","slug":"fmus-mattox-closing-in-on-ncaa-division-ii-record-scnow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/25\/fmus-mattox-closing-in-on-ncaa-division-ii-record-scnow\/","title":{"rendered":"FMU's Mattox closing in on NCAA Division II record – SCNow"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Francis Marion third baseman Todd Mattox is approaching an NCAA Division II record for most consecutive games of safely reaching base. His streak stands at 68 with 21 to go to break the mark.
FLORENCE, S.C.<\/span> \u2013 There\u2019s a scene in the movie \u201cMoneyball\u201d where Oakland A\u2019s scouts are asking then general manager Billy Beane why he likes a player so much.
Beane points to Peter Brand, playing the role of assistant GM, who responds simply with, \u201cBecause he gets on base.\u201d
Todd Mattox would likely have ranked high on Beane\u2019s list. Since the tail end of the 2020 season, the Francis Marion University standout has reached base safely in every single one of the Patriots\u2019 games \u2013 via hit, walk, intentional walk or hit by pitch.
The fifth-year senior from Blythewood High School has run his streak to 68 consecutive games and now sits 21 away from breaking the NCAA Division II record currently held by Catawaba\u2019s Craige Lyerly (88 from 2009 through 2010).
The Patriots (15-10 overall, 5-7 Conference Carolinas) begin a three-game series at Emmanuel College on Friday. If FMU plays the remainder of its scheduled games and Mattox continues to reach base, he would potentially tie and then break the record during an April 29 home doubleheader against King University \u2013 the final regular-season series of the year.
But Mattox isn\u2019t likely to give the streak much thought between now and then, instead focusing on his normal approach at the plate \u2013 one that\u2019s made him extremely successful in his tenure at FMU.
\u201cI just try to stick to what I\u2019ve been doing,\u201d Mattox said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying every game to have good at bats. In certain situations, I need to get on base when we\u2019re down two runs or something like that. Need to get something going.
\u201cBut I\u2019m just basically trying to do that. Whenever I\u2019m hitting, I don\u2019t really think about it all that much. Bad things happen if you start overthinking at the plate.\u201d
That hasn\u2019t been an issue thus far. Mattox is a career .388 hitter with the Patriots and has a .445 on-base percentage. He\u2019s played and started 79 career games and has only not reached base safely three times \u2013 all coming in 2020.
He was team MVP last year after batting .405 with 62 hits and 41 runs driven in, and has been the team\u2019s best hitter overall the past two seasons, coach Art Inabinet said.
\u201c(He) sparks your offense and keeps people on base,\u201d the longtime FMU coach added. \u201cNot only does he drive in runs for us in the three hole, but provides opportunities for Leniel Gonzalez and Darius Nobles to drive in runs as well.
\u201cTodd\u2019s a big part of our offense, and he\u2019s a special guy.\u201d
As one might expect, there have been a few near-misses that have kept the streak alive. It was almost squashed during the opening game of the 2021 season before Mattox was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning.
The closest call came this year against Belmont Abbey on Feb. 18 when a ninth-inning intentional walk provided the key moment. Mattox was 0 for 3 that game and was scheduled to be the fourth batter of that inning.
Still, he\u2019s mostly gotten on base the old-fashioned way by coming up with at least one hit. Mattox finished the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign on an eight-game hitting streak and had streaks of 11 and 12 games during 2021.
Mattox started the year with a six-game hitting streak and currently has another six-game one going.
\u201cI\u2019m normally looking for a pitch that I can do some damage with,\u201d he said. \u201cIn good hitter\u2019s counts, I\u2019m looking for a pitch that I can hammer somewhere and make something happen.
\u201cWhenever I\u2019m hitting, I\u2019m always trying to hit the ball hard somewhere. I\u2019ve had that drilled into me. But I\u2019m always looking to put the ball in play and make the defense have to make plays.\u201d
Being patient at the plate is something that Mattox has worked on, he said, especially with the lineup he has behind him. He walked eight times in all of 2021, but already has eight free passes this season.
\u201cI\u2019ve got guys behind me that are going to compete in the box and have really good at bats,\u201d Mattox said. \u201cAnytime I\u2019m able to get on base, I feel really confident in those guys behind me.\u201d
It\u2019s that type of drive to get better that has separated Mattox in his time at Francis Marion, Inabinet said.
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the hardest workers we have at practice,\u201d Inabinet said. \u201cAnd to have one of your best players \u2013 if not your best player \u2013 be one of your hardest workers, that\u2019s a really a good sign for your team. He\u2019s been a leader for our program, but at the same time also performed defensively and offensively.\u201d
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Francis Marion third baseman Todd Mattox is approaching an NCAA Division II record for most consecutive games of safely reaching base. His streak stands at 68 with 21 to go to break the mark.
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Get local news delivered to your inbox!Francis Marion third baseman Todd Mattox is approaching an NCAA Division II record for most consecutive games of safely reaching base. His streak stands at 68 with 21 to go to break the mark.FLORENCE, S.C. \u2013 There\u2019s a scene in the movie \u201cMoneyball\u201d where Oakland A\u2019s scouts are asking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}