GLASSBORO, NJ – The Rowan University baseball team swept a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) doubleheader over New Jersey City University to earn a spot in the NJAC Championship Tournament. Rowan won the first game, 5-4 and the second 6-3.

 

The Profs have won nine straight games and have a 21-14 overall record with a 10-7 NJAC mark. New Jersey City is 15-21 overall and 3-14 in the conference. Rowan will have to wait and see where it will be seeded in the conference tournament after the final regular season games are played on Monday, April 30. The first round of the tournament is on Thursday, May 3, with the second, third and fourth rounds on Saturday-Monday, May 5-7.

 

Left hander Ryan Kulik (jr. Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) tossed eight innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out a career-high 14 batters in the first game. Reliever Kevin O’Hara (so. Clayton, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) pitched one inning in relief for his first win of the year. Right hander Anthony Cacchiola (jr. Union, NJ/Union) pitched eight innings and gave up two earned runs in the loss for the Gothic Knights.

 

Third baseman Tom Ready (so. Blenheim, NJ/Triton Reg.) went one for four with two RBIs and one run scored. Center fielder Roger Turley (jr. Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) was one for two with two runs scored. Right fielder Tim Edmeads (sr. Newfield, NJ/Buena Reg.), designated hitter Rob Ritterson (jr. Sewell, NJ/George Washington (PA)) and second baseman Bruce Reibis (jr. Jackson, NJ/Jackson Mem.) each drove in one run.

 

For NJCU, second baseman Andrew Decibus (jr. Carteret, NJ/Carteret) had one hit (four at bats), two RBIs and one run scored. Left fielder Michael McCormick (fr. North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) was two for four with a run scored. Shortstop Jose Fulgencio (jr. Bronx, NY/San Rafael (Dominican Republic)) added one hit (five at bats), one RBI and a double.

 

After trailing 4-2, the Gothic Knights had a two run double by Decibus in the top of the seventh to tie the game at four. Ready singled to right field, scoring pinch runner Keith Evans (fr. Audubon, NJ/Audubon) for the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

 

Rowan scored one run in each of the first three innings. Edmeads knocked in Turley with a ground out in the first. In the second inning, Reibis singled in Urbanovich and Ready’s sacrifice fly in the third plated Turley. New Jersey City cut the lead to 3-2 with one run in the fourth and sixth innings. Fulgencio’s double scored center fielder Rob Sumner (jr. Union, NJ/Union) in the fourth and Decibus came home on an error in the sixth. The Profs added a run in the bottom of the sixth following a RBI double by Ritterson. 

In the second game, right hander Brian McLaughlin (sr. Glendora, NJ/Triton Reg.) went five innings, giving up three runs and striking out six hitters for his third win. Closer Tyler Dempsey (sr. Haddon Heights, NJ/Haddon Heights) pitched one inning for his sixth save. Righty Milton Rodriguez (sr. Jersey City, NJ/Marist) took the loss for the Gothic Knights.

 

Ready went three for four with two runs scored, one RBI and a double. Second baseman David Lenig (fr. Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville) was two for four with a one run scored, one RBI and a double. Edmeads contributed two hits (four at bats), one run scored and a triple. Urbanovich had one hit (two at bats) and two runs scored. First baseman Shawn Counard (sr. Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) drove in two runs, while catcher Robert Fox (jr. Ocean Twp., NJ/Ocean Twp.) and shortstop Tim Barnshaw (so. Dayton, NJ/South Brunswick) recorded one RBI apiece.

 

Decibus was two for two with one run for NJCU. Fulgencio extended his hitting streak to 26 games, with one hit in four at bats. It is the longest hitting streak in Division III this season. First baseman Ruben Borges (jr. Union, NJ/Union) and catcher Fernando Espinosa (so. Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) each had one hit and one RBI, while third baseman Ryan Pelt (jr. Branchville, NJ/High Point Reg.) and Sumner added one hit and one run scored apiece.

 

New Jersey City struck first with one run in the top of the second inning when Espinosa singled in Pelt. Rowan scored two runs in the bottom half following a sacrifice fly by Counard that scored Ready and a RBI single by Lenig that plated Urbanovich. Both teams added one run in the third inning. Borges singled in Sumner for the Gothic Knights and Edmeads came home on Ready’s single for the Profs. NJCU tied the game at three in the top of the fifth inning after Decibus crossed home plate on a wild pitch. Rowan answered with two runs in the bottom half. Fox and Counard both had a RBI single. The Profs added an insurance run in the eight inning following a RBI single by Barnshaw.

 

Rowan hosts NJAC opponent Richard Stockton College on Monday, April 30 at 3:30 p.m. in its final regular season game.