GLASSBORO, NJ – Tenth-ranked Rowan was swept by William Paterson at home in the NJAC baseball opener for both teams, as the Pioneers took the first game, 6-5, and the second by a decisive 16-8 margin. Coupled with a loss at #2 Salisbury earlier this week, the Profs have now dropped three straight and are 13-6 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
 
Game 1
Rowan starter Zach Grace struck out nine batters in the first four innings en route to 11 strikeouts in the game and shut down William Paterson until the fourth inning. Tyler Cannon recorded two hits and drove in two for the Profs. Dylan Maria (3-for-5) and Anthony Schooley (3-for-5) both led the team with three hits.
 
Rowan got the scoring started in the second inning after Cannon drove in Phil Sedalis after an error by William Paterson.
 
William Paterson tied it up in the fourth after an RBI single from Riley Weis, but the Profs retook the lead, 2-1, in their half of the inning after Cannon drove in Jason Morgan with an RBI single.
 
The Pioneers responded quickly with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth from Tyler Ruban to knot the game up at 2-2. The Profs had a chance to retake the lead in their part of the fifth, loading the bases with no one out, but William Paterson pitched out of the jam with no one crossing the plate.
 
From there, William Paterson put up a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, but Rowan responded with a pair of their own after Morgan scored and Maria drove in a run with an RBI single to tie the game again, 4-4.  
 
A pair of wild pitches in the eighth inning was the difference, as two runs came across to score for the Pioneers to give them a 6-4 lead.
 
Sedalis drove in a run in the ninth with an RBI single, but a leaping grab from Weis with the tying run on second ended the game.
 
Reliever Sean Colbert (2-1) took the loss for Rowan in two innings of work.
 
Game 2
William Paterson (12-5; 2-0 NJAC) got on the board first with a four-run second inning after two fielding errors from the Profs, but RBI doubles from Karson Harcourt and Murphy cut the Pioneers' lead to 4-3.

Maria was again 3-for-5 in the game, scoring one run with Murphy going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. Sedalis was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. 
 
The Pioneers added three more in the top of the third and Rowan kept clawing away at William Paterson's lead, scoring one run in its half of the third after a sacrifice fly from Sedalis to make it 7-4. Rowan then tacked on another run in the fourth after an RBI single from Pat Defeciani.
 
But William Paterson exploded for eight runs in the sixth inning, with 14 batters coming to the plate to take a 15-5 lead. The Pioneers would go on to add another run via the sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
 
Rowan cut into the deficit in its half of the eighth and scored three to provide the final margin, as Cannon, Murphy and Marco Mannino drove in runs, bringing home Sedalis, Luke Bickunas and Mason Dorsey.  
 
Starter Jason O'Neill (3-1) was saddled with the loss, his first of the year, with Jake Reese, Matt Choi, Mike Shannon, Ryan Iovine and Maria working in relief.  
 
The Profs will look to bounce back on Tuesday, when Gwynedd Mercy comes to town and Rowan will get back to conference play when it hosts NJCU in a single game on Thursday afternoon.