Box Score
NEWARK, NJ – The Rowan University baseball team won 5-2 over The College of New Jersey in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Sunday.
The second seed Rowan (34-13) plays the top seed Kean University (38-9) at 5:45 p.m. The game was delayed by rain. The Profs need a win against the Cougars to force the if necessary game on Monday. Kean does not have a loss in the double elimination first round.
The third seed The College of New Jersey ends the season with a 30-12 record. TCNJ defeated Rowan, 5-2 on Thursday which was the Profs’ only loss in the first round.
Left hander Ryan Kulik (sr. Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) pitched eight innings for the Profs’ victory. Kulik (10-2) scattered nine hits and struck out 11 batters. Right hander Kevin O’Hara (jr. Clayton, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) was on the mound for the final inning and earned his eighth save. Pitcher Nick Amabile (sr. Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) took the loss for the Lions.
First baseman Tom Ready (jr. Blenheim, NJ/Triton Reg.) paced Rowan with three hits (four at bats) and two RBIs. Second baseman Joe Franceschini (sr. Toms River, NJ/Toms River E.) went two for two and scored one run. Third baseman Paul Urbanovich (sr. Rutherford, NJ/St. Peter’s Prep) contributed with one hit and one RBI. Right fielder John McMullin (jr. Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) recorded a home run. Center fielder Garrett Mull (jr. Chatsworth, NJ/Lenape) and left fielder Frank Hasenauer (sr. Iselin, NJ/John F. Kennedy) each added one hit and one run scored.
For TCNJ, catcher Rich Gawlak (sr. Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro S.) went two for four with one RBI and one run scored. Second baseman Adam Tussey (jr. Brooklawn, NJ/Gloucester) had three hits in four at bats and one run scored. Left fielder Chris Esperon (so. Union, NJ/Union Catholic) added two hits in four trips to the plate.
The Profs had a 2-0 lead after scoring one run in the first and second innings. In the first, shortstop Roland Rodriguez (so. Miami, FL/Miami Killian) scored on a double play ground out. McMullin hit a solo homer to lead off the second inning. It was his eighth home run on the year.
Rowan was up 3-0 after the fifth inning. Urbanovich’s single plated Franceschini who got on base with a single. TCNJ got on the scoreboard with one run in the sixth inning and Rowan added two more in the bottom half. Gawlak singled in Tussey. Ready knocked in both of the Profs’ runs with a single. Hasenauer and Mull scored the runs. The Lions’ final run came in the ninth inning. Right fielder Matt Barrett (sr. Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) singled to right field, scoring Gawlak.
