ROWAN BASEBALL ROLLING IN CONFERENCE PLAY
By Jacob Keppen – Sports Writer for The Sentinel of Gloucester County Weekly Newspaper
Published in Print Edition Week of 4/11/2019
There were a bit of doubts concerning this Rowan baseball team. After being highly touted all off season, being talked about as a national championship contender, Rowan’s start of the season caused some concern. They didn’t look like a top 5 in the nation team in Florida, losing four games in the eight day span. With conference play starting, it seems Rowan have started to really find themselves as a team, looking like a real contender.
Following a split series against Kean, Rowan had no problems against Arcadia, defeating the Knights soundly 15-2. Jean Sapini earned his third victory of the season. Matt Woods led the charge for the Profs with a big 3-5 performance, blasting a two run shot in the third. Anthony Harold had a multi-RBI game, driving in three runs, as did Michael Manganella driving in two runs.
Rowan continued their hot hitting with a 7-2 win over New Paltz. Zach Listro earned his first victory of the season. New Paltz would open the game with two runs in the first two innings. They would not have that lead for long. An Eric Schorr sacrifice in the second cut the lead to one, and a Dillon Mendel sacrifice in the third fly tied it up at two.The sacrifices would keep coming in the seventh, when Alex Kokos drove in Dan Shane with a sac fly. Rowan would seal the game with an four run onslaught in the eighth.
The good times kept rolling in Rowan’s 13-0 blowout win over NJCU. Justin Smith earned his second victory of the season. What a day it was for Matt Woods, going 5-6 with five RBIs. He had 3 two baggers in the win. Steven Hewa went 3-5. Hewa drove in two runs, as did Manganella and Dane Shane.
Rowan’s NJAC dominance continued with two successive blowouts over Rutgers-Newark. After defeating the Scarlet-Raiders 11-2 and 10-1, the Profs proceeded to destroy NJCU 13-0 at home. The Profs are 17-5 and on a seven game win streak. It really seems like the Profs have figured it all out, especially on offense. Nearly every game in this winning streak has seen Rowan score over ten runs. It shall be seen whether their high powered offense can maintain their explosiveness for the rest of the season.