Duke Player MJ Metz Homers Three Times Despite Torn ACL

Who says you need two knees to play baseball?

Duke baseball's MJ Metz blasted three home runs Friday as the Blue Devils took down UNC Wilmington, 12-3, during the team's NCAA Regional opener.

Oh, and he did it with a torn ACL.

Metz injured his knee during an ACC Tournament game on May 23.

Although it was unclear if he would suit up Friday, the 23-year-old graduate student decided to give it a go.

"I thought that I could help the team and that's all I was trying to do," Metz said told the Fayetteville Observer. "I told I wanted to give it a shot and that I'd let him know if anything changed. Just grateful for the way it all turned out."

And the Blue Devils are pretty grateful, too.

Serving as a designated hitter, Metz struck out in his first at bat. But in the fourth inning, he blasted one over the fence to tie the game for the Blue Devils.

And that's when the flood gates opened.

In the fifth, Metz hit the ball to almost the same exact spot to the opposite field for a two-run homer.

He finished off his day in the seventh inning with a no-doubt, two-run bomb to left field.

"It kind of defies logic a little bit, but he’s an exceptionally tough person," Pollard said.

Duke will take on Rider University Saturday evening in the next step on the road to Omaha.