ABINGTON, PA – The 11th-ranked Rowan baseball team defeated Penn State-Abington, 16-0, in a game that was shortened to five innings because of rain. Catcher
Brian Gallante went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, with
Chris Curcio going 2-for-2 and driving in four runs as the Profs (12-3) picked up their seventh straight win.
Pitchers
Zach Grace,
Jason O'Neill and
Chase Rieger combined for the shutout and a two-hitter. Grace (2-0) struck out five and earned the win with O'Neill notching one strikeout and the Profs' pitchers not issuing a walk.
Rowan had eight different players drive in runs with
Jason Morgan and
Dylan Maria each bringing home two apiece.
Ryan Murphy scored three runs and recorded one RBI.
The Profs didn't waste any time building up a lead, scoring four runs in their first at-bat. Maria had a two-run double,
Anthony Schooley drove in a run with a ground out and Curcio notched his first RBI with a sacrifice fly.
Rowan's bats exploded in the second inning as it scored eight runs. Murphy singled in one run followed by a ground-out RBI from
Pat Defeciani and a two-run double by Curcio to give the Profs a 9-0 lead.
Phil Sedalis drove in Curcio with a double of his own with Gallante following with an RBI single. Morgan had an infield hit that allowed Gallante to score after a Penn State-Abington (9-9) error, giving Rowan a dominating 12-0 lead.
The Profs added their final runs in the fifth with another sacrifice fly from Curcio and an RBI single by Gallante. Morgan finished off the scoring when he drove in two more runs with a single that scored Sedalis and Schooley.
The Profs will host Swarthmore on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and then head to Salisbury on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Rowan opens NJAC play on Saturday when it hosts a conference doubleheader against William Paterson.