Rowan Baseball and Super Regionals go together for the fourth time in five years.
The Profs defeated the hosting Huskies at Ed Flaherty Field on Monday, 13-8, in this spring’s NCAA Southern Maine Regional final to extend their run on the national stage.
“The hardest [NCAA Regional] is the first one, and then once you win it, you learn how you need to be able to coach and the players that you need to have in your program,” head coach Mike Dickson said.
A, 6-0, advantage for Rowan was quickly cut to one run as the Profs went to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning. When it comes to big moments, it seems as if junior Brayden Davis was ready to make another memory.
“If you want a guy up with runners in scoring position in a big moment, he’s the guy you want up because he’s going to get it done,” Dickson said. “He learned from Phil [Sedalis] and Ty [Cannon] and Jason Morgan last year, how to play the game the right way and how to lead.”
Lighting struck twice for Davis, with the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Player of the Year blasting his second grand slam in as many days to give the Profs an assertive, 12-5, lead. Davis finished the NCAA Regional with video game numbers — 7-for-13, 15 RBIs, three home runs.
The junior shortstop wasn’t finished yet, as Dickson opted to put his star on the mound in the top of the ninth inning. In his first appearance all season, two runs came across, but Davis showed off two-way capabilities to close the door on a Southern Maine rally.
“We knew he could throw strikes, he threw a lot as a freshman [and] he threw a little bit last year,” Dickson said. “We keep him throwing all year long for that type of moment.”
Christian Rice went 5.1 innings and struck out ten Huskies in his third start — his most since transferring to Rowan as a junior last spring. The Profs did need to shuffle through more relievers than anticipated, yet, sophomore Evan Brasberger assured that wasn’t an issue after getting out of a seventh inning jam and allowing only one run in the eighth.
“Brasberger did a great job… that was a big moment in the game,” Dickson said. “It was a, 6-5, game at the time and, you know, we were able to score a bunch the next inning but without him shutting that [seventh] inning down, who knows where that game goes.”
Monday’s ballgame proved to be a more desperate effort from the Huskies after their, 18-7, loss to Rowan a day prior. The Profs needed just one win to advance while Southern Maine needed two games to go their way.
“They’re a really good team in their home ballpark, so they’re going to be tough to beat, especially if you got to beat them twice in their home ballpark,” Dickson said.
The brown and gold are leaving Gorham, Maine, with an undefeated reign, winning three consecutive games at Ed Flaherty Field. Rowan improves to 35-5 on the season, just three wins away from their total of last year’s College World Series team.
Starting this Friday, NCAA tournament action runs through Glassboro as the Profs are set to host their first Super Regional. Randolph Macon will be Rowan’s opposition in a three game series that will decide who earns a trip to the Division III College World Series in Eastlake, Ohio.
“Got to pack the nest,” Dickson said. “It’s exciting to host our first super regional there.”
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