No. 13 Rowan baseball has been on a hot streak leading up to the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship tournament, winning their last 11 regular season games. They haven’t won the conference title since 2021, and their first round foe, the reigning champion Ramapo Roadrunners, stopped them just short on their quest for the NJAC crown last year in the championship game.

In their playoff opener on May 1, the Profs got their revenge and prevented a repeat winner of the NJAC, defeating Ramapo 16-4 in Glassboro.

“It feels great. It was a good game for most of it,” Jason Morgan said. “We had a good couple of practices, watched our film, and knew how to prepare.”

The senior had a perfect day at the plate, going 5-5 with 3 RBIs, including a solo home run. Morgan also got his 202nd hit in the game, becoming the 12th player in Profs history to reach that milestone. He joins current teammates Tyler Cannon and Phil Sedalis in the 200 hits club. 

“I’m so proud of JMo (Jason Morgan) for what he did and what he’s accomplished here in his time,” Head Coach Mike Dickson said. “It’s awesome when you see seniors come out and show up in a conference tournament. This is why they’re here.”

It was an aces duel on the mound, as two of the conference’s best pitchers in Zach Coluccio and James Pazdera faced off. Pazdera of the Roadrunners came into the afternoon with an NJAC-leading 1.01 ERA, while Coluccio followed close behind at 1.74.

Coluccio, who went 6-0 in his regular season, got off to a rocky start on the bump. He struggled to find his feel for the ball as he gave up four consecutive hits to start the game, which gave Ramapo a quick two run lead. But, he would finish the inning strong with a pair of strikeouts.

Pazdera’s arsenal consists of mainly off-speed pitches, and headed into the bottom of the first inning, Dickson knew his team needed to focus on their approach at the plate. 

“We knew he threw a lot of breaking balls, a lot of change ups. We wanted to stay in the middle part of the plate and we knew he couldn’t overpower us with the fastball,” Dickson said. “And I thought our guys did a great job in the week leading up with preparation. And execution wise, today was really good.”

They couldn’t shake Pazdera in the first, but were able to load the bases with no outs in the second. 

Designated hitter Eric Sabato hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring Morgan home. A few at-bats later, Cannon hit a 2 RBI triple and scored himself on a wild pitch to total a five run inning.

Sabato made his return to the lineup against Ramapo after missing 28 games due to a broken finger he sustained back in March. He’s also no stranger to playoff baseball. Prior to his two seasons at Monmouth, he appeared in two New Jersey Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III World Series’ with Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester.

For Dickson, he’s just happy to have an experienced veteran like him back on the active roster.

“Listen, he’s back smiling, and that’s what excites me,” Dickson said.

Ramapo would score their final two runs on the day in the sixth inning, but the Profs would add insult to injury by scoring 10 runs over the next three-inning frame, including six in the eighth.

Pazdera was pulled to begin the seventh, and Morgan knew this was when the offense needed to get some extra insurance runs.

“We knew once we got to the [Ramapo] bullpen, we just had to keep tacking on runs to put them away,” Morgan said.

Rowan will now travel to Montclair State for the rest of the tournament and play The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the winners bracket on May 3. They haven’t lost to the Lions since the 2023 season, and Dickson doesn’t plan for that streak to end anytime soon.

“Whatever we did in the regular season against TCNJ, that’s over with,” Dickson said. “We just have to be able to play our game and then we’ll be alright.”

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