For the second consecutive year, Rowan concluded their baseball season at the NCAA Division III Championship in Eastlake, Ohio.

The No. 2 seeded Profs (38-7) faced the No. 7 Adrian Bulldogs (39-13) at Classic Auto Group Park, this time in the elimination bracket. Adrian proved to be Rowan’s kryptonite all along, defeating them once again, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon.

A season filled with conference triumph and a plethora of NCAA tournament wins ended off the bat of senior Mason Dorsey in the bottom of the ninth, whose grounder rolled toward the third base bag where Adrian’s Rolando Jimenez beat out the legs of Joey Bogart. 

“Proud of my players, proud of our season, proud of our program,” Rowan head coach Mike Dickson said in an opening statement. “These guys should be proud that they’re laying a foundation that one [day] we’re going to get out here and we’re going to win this thing.”

Last year, Rowan was the 7th seed and battling in elimination games at this very stage. The tide shifted the Bulldog’s way this go around, proving that seeding is only a number.    

“I mean, all eight teams here are amazing,” Adrian center fielder Jack Boike said, who went 2-for-4 on the day. “It’s pretty much eight No. 1 seeds here competing… just trying to see who’s the best.”

Rowan had their chance in the bottom of the sixth, as Adiran held onto a three-run lead in the tightest of ballgames. With one out and two runners on thanks to a Bulldog infield error, Second Team All-American Brayden Davis sent a playable high fly ball off the right field fence. 

In a moment where Davis was eyeing up extra bases and RBI number 87, the junior managed to reach first base. Baserunners Evan McCoach and Damon Suriani opted to be cautious, tag up, and load the bases. On the next pitch, Ian Murphy’s grounder resulted in a double play, likely deciding the outcome in that instant.

“Yeah, I mean that unfortunately changed the game around for us… it’s such a game of inches,” Dickson said. “You got to play four weeks in a row of your best baseball and it’s really really hard to do… if you don’t play great, you get exposed because you’re playing better clubs.”

Bulldogs starter Sean Parker impressed, going the distance and completing all nine innings on the bump. In 12 innings against the Profs this weekend, Parker allowed just one run. 

“The first time I faced him was the other night and he got me on a breaking ball… got me chasing,” junior second baseman Bogart said, who tallied two hits against Parker. “[What helped was] getting my eyes up and trying to get something out over the plate instead of chasing his pitch and making him work.

Adrian’s start also paid dividends, as Rolando Jimenez and Gabe Jones both brought in runs to give their side an early, 2-0, lead in the top of the third. For the Bulldogs, every run felt like they were getting five runs in a win or go home setting. 

“We knew this was going to be a really tough game today,” Adrian head coach Craig Rainey said. “Probably a low scoring affair and it’s kind of what it turned out to be.”

Sunday’s result marks the final time a multitude of seniors will wear brown and gold pinstripes. It’s safe to say that the culture on and off the field was highly influenced by the work of those who have now completed their Rowan careers.

“I mean, this program has been everything for the past four years,” senior first baseman Nick Struble said. “I go hit in my spare time for the program, I go lift in my spare time, even on the days I don’t want to [because] I do it for the guys around me.”

Another offseason looms for Dickson and the Profs, who look to replicate their recruiting success and continue their search in the transfer portal that was decisive in constructing back-to-back Division III Championship caliber teams.