Box Score
NEWARK, NJ – The Rowan University baseball team defeated Keystone College, 9-2 in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Saturday night. The double elimination first round continues on Sunday at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
The second seed Rowan (33-13) plays the third seed The College of New Jersey (30-11) on Sunday at 11 a.m. The winner meets the top seed Kean University (38-9) at 3 p.m. The Cougars do not have a loss in the tournament and the if necessary game would be played on Monday, May 19.
In the first game of the day, number seven Keystone (32-12) eliminated the fifth seed Messiah College (28-18) with a 9-3 victory. Rowan knocked out the eighth seed Gwynedd-Mercy College (22-20) with a 17-2 victory. Kean followed with a 12-8 win over The College of New Jersey.
Right hander Miguel Sosa (sr. Miami, FL/Barbara Goleman) pitched a complete game for the victory. Sosa (4-1) gave up two runs, one earned and he totaled seven strikeouts. Pitcher Mike Hanley (so. South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop George) went three innings and took the loss.
Shortstop Roland Rodriguez (so. Miami, FL/Miami Killian) paced the Profs with three hits (four at bats), three RBIs and one run scored. Center fielder Garrett Mull (jr. Chatsworth, NJ/Lenape) went two for four with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. First baseman Tom Ready (jr. Blenheim, NJ/Triton Reg.) contributed with two hits and two RBIs. Right fielder John McMullin (jr. Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) had two hits (four at bats) and one RBI. Second baseman Joe Franceschini (sr. Toms River, NJ/Toms River E.) and left fielder Frank Hasenauer (sr. Iselin, NJ/John F. Kennedy) each scored two runs.
For the Giants, center fielder Drew Boandl (jr. Moscow, PA/Western Wayne) went two for three with one run scored. Catcher Giovannie Sanchez (jr. Luquillo, PR/Maria Auxiliadora) had two hits in four at bats. Third baseman Nelson Gomez (jr. Rio Grande, PR/Casiano Cepeda) added one hit (three at bats) and one RBI. Left fielder Kory Leicht (so. Manchester, PA/Northeastern) went one for two and scored one run.
The Profs went up 2-0 in the first inning. McMullin drove in Rodriguez with a single to left center field and third baseman Paul Urbanovich (sr. Rutherford, NJ/St. Peter’s Prep) came home on a wild pitch. Urbanovich reached base on a fielder’s choice.
Rowan added one run in the top of the third and Keystone scored its first run in the bottom half. Hasenauer led off with a walk and later scored on Rodriguez’s single. Boandl reached base with a walk and crossed the plate for the Giants on a ground out double play.
Rowan had a 7-1 advantage after four runs in the fourth. Mull singled in one run and Rodriguez plated two with a single. Ready’s hit up the middle scored Franceschini. Keystone’s second run came in the fifth. Leicht went home on a bases loaded walk by Gomez.
Mull recorded a solo homer in the sixth. It was his third home run of the tournament and sixth on the year. The Profs’ final run was in the ninth inning. Franceschini had a double to right center field and he scored on Ready’s single.
