After winning three straight in the NCAA Regional tournament, No. 15 Rowan baseball (35-10) travelled to Lynchburg, Va., to face No. 5 Lynchburg (41-8) in their first Super Regionals game since 2023 on Friday, May 23.

The Hornets enter the postseason a season removed from a College World Series appearance. Their 2024 season ended on the doorsteps of a national title to the future 2024 champion Misericordia Cougars and a year prior to that in 2023, they were crowned national champions. Owning a perfect 23-0 record at home, Lynchburg looked to defend their turf, or the host field of Bank of the James Stadium, and continue their recent program postseason success against the Profs.

Despite overcoming a four-run deficit late in the contest, timely doubles from Rowan second baseman Joey Bogart powered his team past Lynchburg, as his pair of hits and RBIs paved the way for their 7-4 win over the Hornets.

“We were able to stay poised and composed to be able to fight back there late,” Head coach Mike Dickson said. “Joey’s late double there in the game really put things away for us.”

Rowan scored three runs in the second and one in the sixth to put them up 4-0 after six. Mike Shannon also did his part on the mound, throwing five shutout innings in another strong postseason outing for the fifth-year pitcher. His last start came during Rowan’s first game of the Regional round against Grove City, where he went eight innings and struck out nine, his second-highest strikeout margin of the season.

But, the third time through the order would prove to be costly as Lynchburg was able to get to Shannon. The Hornets scored one run in the sixth and another three in the seventh to come all the way back and tie things up headed into the top of the eighth.

“I just knew going into it that there was a good team [Lynchburg] over there and I had to be on my A-game the whole time,” Shannon said. “Credit to them, they battled and came back and stayed on my stuff all day, but I didn’t let up.”

This point of game 1 was where Bogart’s hits came into play. He leadoff the eighth inning with a double to put himself in scoring position and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Cannon to right field. With the Profs holding a one run lead heading into the ninth, Bogart came up to the plate once again, this time with runners on second and third. His second double of the day drove both runners home and thwarted the positive momentum from continuing to flow in Lynchburg’s direction.

“Everyone was telling me I was going to get an opportunity to come through in a big spot later in the game,” Bogart said. “All I was trying to do was hit something hard to get the runs in.”

Along with a pair of doubles from Bogart, Lynchburg pitchers gave up 16 hits to the Profs, tying their season-high. The loss for the Hornets in game 1 of the Super Regionals is also a first of its kind for the program in two years. The team has made the Super Regionals every year since 2023, but hadn’t lost a game 1 until their outing versus Rowan.

“They were better in all facets today,” Lynchburg head coach Travis Beazley said. “The Bogart kid crushed us and gave them [Rowan] the opportunity to put us away in the ninth.”

Rowan has now won four straight and looks to continue that streak in game 2, beginning on Saturday, May 24 and will look to put Lynchburg away and gain their first berth to the College World Series since 2021.

Their offense came into the series with the Hornets after a red-hot regionals run that saw them score 55 runs over a three-day span. A team that consists mainly of seniors and graduate students, Dickson says their tight-knit bond is what has driven the team’s recent success and prompted their game 1 win. And it is that chemistry, Dickson says, that will continue to push them even further into the postseason.

“I always tell the guys, we’re gonna need a village and we’re gonna need a village to work together, and today they did,” Dickson said. “They trusted one another and were able to fight back.”

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