Evan McCoach drove in four runs and Brayden Davis, Nick Struble and Ian Murphy had three RBIs each as #5 Rowan rolled to a 22-5 win over New Jersey City in NJAC baseball action, ending in the eighth inning because of darkness. The victory marked the 700th in head coach Mike Dickson’s 21-year career as he’s guided Rowan to a 27-5 mark and 12-3 conference record this season.
Dickson’s record includes his 12 years with the Profs and nine successful seasons in the junior college ranks at Rowan College of Gloucester County, as he has amassed an overall record of 700-225.
McCoach went 3-for-3 scoring three runs and driving in four, while Davis was 4-for-5 with two runs. Struble scored twice and went 2-for-5 with Brett Chiesa going a personal-best 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBI. Murphy was 2-for-4 with two runs and Jason Schooley homered for the second time in two days as the Profs recorded 18 hits and went over the 20-run mark for the fourth time this year.
Dane Samartino (1-0) picked up his first win as a Prof, pitching two strong innings with two strikeouts in relief of starter Zach Coluccio. Charlie Russell and Shane Sax also saw time on the mound to preserve the win.
Trailing 5-4, the Profs scored 18 consecutive runs. They exploded for 10 runs on six hits in the fourth with McCoach driving in three runs in two at-bats. Among the big hits were two-run singles by Chiesa and Mason Dorsey, and a two-run double by McCoach.
The Profs added three more in the sixth inning after a brief weather delay, on a two-run single by Davis and when Jake Bartletta was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Rowan took a 4-0 lead in the first inning on a pair of two-run doubles by Struble and Murphy.
NJCU (10-24-1; 2-14) chipped away, scoring one run in the second and three in the third. The Gothic Knights took a 5-4 lead in the top of the fourth, before Rowan took over the game in the bottom of the inning.
Rowan will close out the regular season in a doubleheader at William Paterson, which has been changed to Sunday at 11:30 a.m. due to the weather forecast for Saturday.