For the fifth consecutive year, Rowan Baseball took a flight into the Sunshine State to not only experience some beautiful weather but also gain results in this year’s RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Profs entered the initial eight-game stretch 3-0, and left with an upgraded, 8-2, record.
The team garnered wins against Keystone, Bethel, Trinity College, UMass Boston, and Endicott, while their first losses of the season came against SUNY Oneonta and top-ranked Salve Regina. The Profs played seven games since a battle with No. 4 Johns Hopkins was cancelled.
No. 11 Rowan Baseball saw some strong performances throughout the week-long venture, laying the groundwork for the rest of their season and upcoming home opener on March 26.
Brayden bombs away
There have not been many players off to a hotter start than Rowan’s junior third baseman. Brayden Davis leads the Profs in nearly every offensive category, most notably with five home runs, 22 RBIs, and hitting .500 (20-for-40) from the dish through the opening ten games of the season.
In Florida, the increase in temperature was not kind to opponents, considering Davis was already on fire.
Davis went yard in back-to-back games, with the first one coming against Bethel. The second home run occurred in a game where Davis was accountable for all five of Rowan’s runs in their 7-5 loss to Salve Regina.
In total, Davis accumulated ten hits, 12 RBIs, and two home runs across the seven games, continuing a dominant season in the making.
Rowan’s one-two punch on the bump
Head coach Mike Dickson and company may have two aces in their deck of pitching cards. Fifth-year player Zach Coluccio and sophomore Austin Kreyenhagen have asserted themselves as formidable pitchers.
Coluccio was a flamethrower in Rowan’s invitational opener against Keystone, producing eleven strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched in the 18-1 win over the Giants. A few days later, he did just enough to hold off UMass Boston in Rowan’s 6-4 victory, pitching five innings and allowing just three runs.
As for Kreyenhagen, efficiency was at its finest in his first start, where he allowed only three hits and one run across six innings in a 6-5 win over Bethel. Kreyenhagen went the distance in his second start, pitching 8.2 innings and allowing two runs en route to defeating Endicott, 5-2.
The Profs triumphed in every game started by Coluccio and Kreyenhagen in the Sunshine State.
New arrivals make their mark
If the Florida trip proved anything, the team’s freshmen and transfers are now playing ball the Rowan way.
One of the biggest surprises so far has been freshman infielder Kyle Lamanteer, who blasted his first two career home runs prior to the invitational. Across the seven games, Lamanteer went 9-for-30 with RBIs against Keystone and Trinity College.
Rutgers University transfer Evan McCoach has found comfort in the leadoff spot.
The center fielder came up big in the game against UMass Boston, where his two-run double in the top of the ninth inning broke a 4-4 knot. The Profs needed all four of McCoach’s hits after Rowan was down 4-0 through four innings.
In Rowan’s final game against Endicott, a contest between two 2025 Division III College World Series participants, Barton College transfer Ian Murphy set the stage for a 5-2 victory. Murphy’s first home run as a Prof in the bottom of the first inning led to a three-RBI day.
The Profs closed out the trip with three consecutive wins as they hope to build on an early foundation of success.
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