LAKELAND, FL – The 25th-ranked Rowan University baseball team held off #24 Salve Regina University, 10-8 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Friday.
The Profs improve to 4-1 overall while the Seahawks have a 1-1 record. Second baseman Alex Kokos (so. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) was three-for-six with three runs scored. First baseman Anthony Harrold (jr. Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and third baseman Justin Provost (fr. Hackettstown, NJ/Pope John XXIII) each had two hits and three RBIs. Provost also scored a run.
Left fielder Monny Strickland (sr. Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) and shortstop Dillon Mendel (jr. Sparta, NJ/Sparta) drove in one run apiece and Strickland scored one time. Right fielder Kyle Golla (sr. Palm Coast, FL/Allentown (NJ)) crossed the plate twice. Center fielder Dan Shane (jr. Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) and Mendel each hit a double.
Left-hander Drew Ryback (so. Mantua, NJ/Clearview Reg.) tossed five innings for the win. He (3-0) allowed three runs on six hits and struck out three. Righty Jordan Friedman (sr. Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill E.) got the final three outs for his first save. Right-hander Michael Mathews (fr. West Hartford, CT/Conard) suffered the loss (0-1).
Salve Regina right fielder Zack Smith (jr. New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) went three-for-three with a home run and four runs scored. First baseman Alex Perry (sr. North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) tallied a triple and a homer, four RBIs and three runs. Center fielder Michael DeFusco (fr. East Greenwich, RI/East Greenwich) produced three hits (five at bats) and two RBIs. Third baseman Colton Eremian (jr. Boca Raton, FL/Boca Raton) had one run scored and left fielder Dylan Ketch (so. Clinton, CT/The Morgan School) hit a double.
The Seahawks struck first on Smith's solo blast to left in the opening inning. Provost evened the score in the second with a sacrifice fly, plating Golla. In the fifth, Harrold singled up the middle and Kokos came home for a 2-1 lead. Perry sent a 2-0 pitch over the fence in left for a two-run homer and a 3-2 advantage in the bottom half of the frame.
Rowan rallied for five runs in the sixth to go ahead 7-3. Two runs scored on wild pitches, Provost had a run-scoring base hit up the middle and Harrold knocked in two runs with a single to right. Provost plated another run with a base knock in the seventh. In the bottom half, DeFusco hit a 2-1 offering to right field and two runs scored.
Mendel's double through the left side in the eighth brought Strickland home for a 9-5 lead. Kokos recorded the Profs' final run in the ninth when he touched the plate on Strickland's single. In the bottom of the frame, Perry tripled home two runs then scored on a balk before Friedman came in to shut the door.
The baseball team battles Ripon College on Saturday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Auburndale, FL.