Two consecutive wins have the Rowan baseball team seven games over .500 as they head closer to conference play.

The Profs have proven that they can beat teams methodically while lighting up the scoreboard. When they aren’t racking up hit after hit, they are taking the bags with patience through walks. In their 8-4 victory against York College on Sunday, the team put the scorekeepers to work, tallying 18 hits highlighted by Jason Clapper and Joe Sadler who had three apiece. Rowan then hosted Haverford College on Wednesday after the original meeting was postponed due to rain. The extra day off didn’t stop the Profs from a stellar outing.

Rowan score 13 runs on nine hits and an astonishing 11 walks. Sophomore Andrew Cartier improved to 3-3 on the season after allowing just one hit across six innings. Rowan as a whole gave up three hits in total in their 12-0 win.

Now the brown and gold can look ahead to New Jersey Athletic Conference competition as they face Ramapo College in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 1. The matchup starts a three-game home stand that includes a game against Stockton University.

The Profs were outplayed by Kean, TCNJ and Ramapo last year as they finished fourth in the conference with an 11-7 record. The Profs were inconsistent towards the end of the year, going an even 5-5 in their last 10 games. Although the 2016 team was second in overall team batting with an impressive .311 average, it was the pitching that led to disappointment.

Giving up 14 home runs and a team-average 3.79 ERA landed the Profs in the middle of the NJAC pack. The team also fell short of any awards given to players for their in-conference play. Rutgers University-Camden then-freshman Chris Jones was awarded the NJAC Rookie of the Year in 2016. He has a team-leading .411 average supported with 23 hits.

But this is a different year and a different Rowan team.

The NJAC Preseason Coaches Poll slated the brown and gold for a third-place finish in 2017 while giving the squad two first-place votes. Rowan was also chosen as the conference dark horse.

The brown and gold were 10-9 at this point last season heading into conference play and have clearly improved this year as they are 13-6 going in. The Profs look to take advantage of their hot bats and stellar pitching staff to lead them to more success in the NJAC.

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