The Profs continued their strong start to New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play with a convincing, 9-4, victory on Thursday over the Stockton Ospreys at the Rowan Baseball Field. A rainy forecast and cold conditions did not halt No. 7 nationally ranked Rowan from winning its ninth game in row, and surging to 14-2.

“Today was a tough day because the guys got to pull a tarp, there’s a ton of water in right field from the rain last night, so we got to get the field ready and then they got to play a game,” head coach Mike Dickson said.  “Credit to them for not letting the weather affect them and, you know, coming out and grabbing that win.”

Rowan found the insurance they needed in another tight battle, as senior Nick Struble shot a two-run double to make it a, 7-3, ballgame in the bottom of the seventh. 

“Yeah, it’s nice to finally see something drop,” Struble said.

Early struggles have been apparent for the first baseman who batted .400 a season ago, entering Thursday’s contest below a .250 average. Struble found his groove thanks to two hits on the day.

“I’ve been struggling personally, but as long as the team’s winning and my guys are picking me up, I know they got my back at the end of the day, so that’s the only thing that matters is winning,” Struble said. 

UConn transfer Ben Schild recovered well from a troublesome third inning that saw Stockton take an early, 2-0, lead. Schild gave the Profs 5.2 solid innings and allowed just three runs on 97 pitches in his fourth start.

“He battled,” Dickson said. “He could have let that inning get away from him, [but he held] them to two runs.”

Also making some noise was junior Brayden Davis and sophomore Evan McCoach. Davis blasted his NJAC-leading seventh home run, already putting him one shy of his total as a sophomore. Evan McCoach built off his five RBI day on Tuesday by causing a Stockton error to break a 3-3 tie in the sixth.   

“You know, obviously a strikeout is an easy out, so if you get a ball in play, you never know what can happen,” Dickson said. “If you look at college infielders, they’re only going to field probably 92%, so there’s going to be 8% of those balls that are not made.”

Rowan ends its first homestand of the season a perfect 5-0, as the Profs are now set to face both Stockton and Montclair State on the road this weekend. With Rowan linked to NCAA aspirations, NJAC results come first for a team that missed out on the conference prize last spring.

“Last year, [at the] beginning of conference play we kind of hit a little rock in the road, so just keeping that going into conference play is everything,” Struble said.  “Own the conference, that’s what we’ve been saying to guys is we want an NJAC.