Box Score
ASHLAND, VA – The Rowan University baseball team opened the season with a 3-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader at Randolph-Macon College on Sunday. The nightcap was halted due to darkness and will be completed on Monday.
Rowan was ahead 13-11 when the second game was stopped at the end of the eighth inning. The two teams will play again after the completion of the halted contest at 2 p.m. The Yellow Jackets are 3-2 on the season.
Left-hander Kyle Brown (sr. Southampton, NJ/Seneca) was the winning pitcher in relief. He went 1.1 innings and gave up one unearned run. Right-hander Brian Rice (sr. Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) earned the save. Righty Michael Helbig took the loss. The starter, he (0-1) threw 5.1 innings, gave up four hits and allowed three earned runs.
For the Profs, second baseman Mark Benak (jr. South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) totaled three hits in four at bats, two doubles and two runs scored. First baseman Sean Kelly (sr. North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) contributed with two RBIs and one run scored while center fielder Eric Perez (jr. Fords, NJ/Woodbridge) added one RBI.
Center fielder Jeb Weymouth led Randolph-Macon with one hit (three at bats) and one RBI. First baseman Michael Kroll, designated hitter Matt Fischgrund and third baseman Nate Meiners all had one hit. Second baseman Austin Carpenter registered one RBI.
The Yellow Jackets had a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Weymouth knocked in left fielder Michael Trentham with a single up the middle. Rowan tied the score in the fourth inning. Benak led off with a double to center field and he went to third on a wild pitch. Kelly recorded a sacrifice fly that brought Benak home.
The Profs went ahead 3-1 in the sixth. Benak started the inning again with a double. Kelly singled to right field, scoring Benak. Catcher C.J. Szymczak (sr. Maple Shade, NJ/Maple Shade) walked and Kelly moved to second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Kelly crossed the plate on Perez’s sac fly to right field. The Yellow Jackets’ final run came in the bottom of the seventh. Right fielder Mark Heideman scored on a ground out with Carpenter at the plate.
