DANVILLE, VA – The Rowan University baseball team was defeated by LaGrange College, 12-5 at the NCAA South Regional on Friday.
It was the first loss for the third-seeded Profs (29-17) in the double elimination tournament. Rowan faces the top seed Salisbury University in an elimination game on Saturday, May 20 at 2:30 p.m. The second-seeded Panthers (40-4) battle Roanoke College, the sixth seed, on Saturday at 11 a.m. LaGrange is ranked first in this week's D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association polls.
In the other games on Friday, Salisbury stayed alive with a 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Otterbein University. The Cardinals were eliminated with the loss. Roanoke knocked out Emory University, 4-2. The Eagles were the fourth seed.
Catcher Chad Pigg (sr. Columbus, GA/Northside) led the Panthers with four hits (four at bats), four RBIs and one run scored. Third baseman Blake Butcher (sr. Watkinsville, GA/Oconee County) and center fielder James Poropatic (jr. Sharpsburg, GA/Northgate) each totaled three hits. Butcher had a double, one RBI and one run scored while Poropatic knocked in two runs and scored one time.
Designated hitter Casey Bell (sr. Port Orange, FL/Spruce Creek) recorded a double, two RBIs and one run. Right fielder Blane Swift (sr. Rockmart, GA/Coosa) and second baseman Joe Pradat (sr. Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul W. Bryant) had one RBI apiece. Pinch runner/left fielder Jackson Patrick (jr. Dallas, GA/East Paulding) crossed the plate three times and shortstop Tavin Thompson (sr. Hogansville, GA/Callaway) scored twice. Thompson added a triple.
Profs' third baseman Dillon Mendel (so. Sparta, NJ/Sparta) went three-for-five with three runs scored. Left fielder Shawn Leydon (jr. Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) and second baseman Alex Kokos (fr. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) produced two hits and one double apiece. Leydon also drove in one run. Catcher Steven Hewa (so. Galloway, NJ/Absegami) had two RBIs and first baseman Monny Strickland (jr. Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) knocked in one run. Right fielder/shortstop Jason Clapper (sr. Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) and Strickland scored one time apiece.
Right-hander Andrew Weekley (sr. Flowery Branch, GA/Flowery Branch) tossed eight innings for the victory. He (10-1) allowed five runs, three earned, and nine hits. Weekley struck out five. Righty Brad Machinski (sr. Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill W.) was tagged with the loss (6-3).
LaGrange struck in the top of the first. Bell and Butcher recorded back-to-back doubles and the Panthers took a 1-0 lead. Rowan gained the upper hand in the bottom half of the frame with two runs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Hewa sent a base hit to center, scoring Clapper and Mendel.
In the third, LaGrange took the lead for good with a five-run inning. The Panthers added three runs in the fifth. Leydon's RBI double in the fifth made the score 9-3. LaGrange posted one run each in the sixth and eighth. Mendel came home on a fielder's choice and Strickland scored on an error in the eighth. The Panthers tallied the final run in the ninth.