Rowan Powers Past Gwynedd-Mercy,
17-2, to Advance
NEWARK, N.J. (5/17/08) - The Rowan University
baseball team pounded out 17 hits to defeat Gwynedd-Mercy College,
17-2, to advance in the 2008 NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic
Baseball Regional Tournament at Bears and Eagles Riverfront
Stadium.
The second-seeded Profs (32-13) scored runs in each of the final
five innings of the game, including a four-run seventh and six-run
ninth, to avoid elimination.
For the eighth-seeded Griffins (22-20), freshman Nick Brown
(Yardley, Pa.) finished 2-of-2 with one run scored, as they
concluded their season in the NCAA Tournament after opening the
season 2-10.
A pitchers' duel through the first four innings, as Griffins
starter Tim McMenamin (Maple Shade, N.J.) and Rowan
freshman Anthony Cavalier (Sewell, N.J.) allowed
just two hits apiece.
The Profs caught up with McMenamin in the fifth when senior
Frank Hasenauer (Iselin, N.J.) led off with a
double and the Profs worked a pair of back-to-back walks to load
the bases with no outs. McMenamin struck out the next batter
and appeared to possibly get out of the inning with a potential
double-play grounder, however an error resulted in no outs and
allowed Hasenauer and Roland Rodriquez (Miami,
Fla.) to score the first two runs of the game.
Rowan added three runs in the sixth, highlighted by a triple by
Rodriguez to drive in a pair of runs, before breaking the game open
with four runs in the seventh inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Griffins got on the board,
scoring a pair of runs on a RBI single by freshman Steve Sable
(Ivyland, Pa.) and a wild pitch, and threatened with bases
loaded and one out, however reliever Mike Swietanski
(Woodbury, N.J.) came into the game and forced the
double-play to end the threat.
A pair of two-run homeruns sparked the eighth and ninth innings
for Rowan, as junior John McMullin (Woodbury,
N.J.) homered to left-center in the eighth inning and
senior Dan Krause (Northfield, N.J.) closed out
the scoring in the ninth with a two-run shot to left field.
Cavalier (4-1) struck out 11 batters and allowed just two earned
runs in six plus innings of work to earn the victory and advance
the Profs to Game 12 this evening against Keystone College.
Third baseman Paul Urbanovich (Rutherford,
N.J.) led the Prof attack with three hits, two runs scored
and one RBI, while McMullin finished 2-of-5 with two runs scored
and two RBI. Junior Garrett Mull (Chatsworth,
N.J.) was 2-of-4 with three runs scored and one RBI and
Rodriguez had three RBI and two runs scored.
For the Griffins, McMenamin suffered the loss, allowing five
hits and five walks, while striking out five. At the plate,
eight different Griffins recorded hits on the afternoon.
