by Maxwell Brucks
Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things in sports; even a .300 batting average allows a player into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. There are even days when those .300 hitters can’t get a hit. But there are also days like the one McPherson College outfielder Colt Sussex-Uphold had against William Penn. In the game against William Penn, Sussex-Uphold made six hits in six at-bats, something only 66 Major League Baseball players have done since 1901. This incredible record was historic and Sussex-Uphold broke the McPherson College school record for most hits in a single game. Sussex-Uphold’s official stat line for the game included two home runs, two doubles, two singles and two runs batted in. The game proceeded to go into extras where Sussex-Uphold made his sixth hit–the one that set up a Jameson Caro walk-off single to lift the Bulldogs over William Penn 9-8. When Sussex-Uphold was asked if he knew he was going for a record before that final at-bat, he responded, “I didn’t know I was going for the record. I was more thinking about if I were to hit another home run, that would be four home runs on the day between the two games.”
In the baseball world, there is a stigma around not mentioning when a player is on a hot streak or if a pitcher is working on a no-hitter or perfect game. Sussex-Uphold said that when he was finally informed he broke the record, he was in shock. Sussex-Uphold shared, “When Robl told me I had broken the record I didn’t know what to think there were so many crazy things that happened that day, between me, Jace, and Jared we had six homers, my mind was just all over the place I don’t even think I realized what had happened or how crazy going six-for-six was until I got home and I was on the phone with my dad.” Sussex-Uphold certainly had a right to be shocked. Of the 66 previous six-for-six games, only three have occurred in the last five Major League seasons. Shohei Ohtani was the latest Major League player to accomplish this feat by going six-for-six against the Miami Marlins on September 19 on route to hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases.
When asked if he had ever had a game like this one in his college baseball career, Sussex-Uphold responded, “Yes, that was the first time in my college career I have gone six-for-six.” This performance against William Penn has gotten Sussex-Uphold off to a .419 batting average with four home runs, six runs batted in, and a .903 slugging percentage to start the season.
