ASHLAND, VA – The Rowan University baseball team swept a doubleheader at 23rd-ranked Randolph-Macon College on Sunday.
The Profs (3-0) won the opener, 6-2 before defeating the Yellow Jackets (6-2), 9-2 in the nightcap. The second game was called after seven innings due to darkness.
In the first contest, center fielder Dan Shane (jr. Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) and first baseman Anthony Harrold (jr. Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) each recorded three hits (four at bats) and one RBI. Harrold scored twice while Shane crossed the plate one time. Right fielder Kyle Golla (sr. Palm Coast, FL/Allentown (NJ)) drove in two runs while second baseman Alex Kokos (so. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) and third baseman Dillon Mendel (jr. Sparta, NJ/Sparta) had one RBI apiece.
Left-hander Drew Ryback (so. Mantua, NJ/Clearview Reg.) picked up his second straight win in relief. He (2-0) tossed the final 3.1 innings, surrendering just two hits and striking out four. Righty Danny Serreino (jr. Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty) had a strong start, hurling 5.2 frames. He allowed two runs, one earned, on just three hits while fanning three. Right-hander Cody Thompson (sr. Mechanicsville, VA/Atlee) suffered the loss (0-1).
Left fielder Cole Migliorini (sr. Stafford, VA/Colonial Forge) and designated hitter Rick Spiers (sr. South Chesterfield, VA/Matoaca) each had two hits and one RBI for Randolph-Macon. Center fielder Ryan Duphorn (so. Erial, NJ/Paul VI) scored two runs.
The Yellow Jackets struck first in the opening inning. Duphorn reached on an error and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Spiers brought Duphorn home with a base hit to left. Randolph-Macon went ahead 2-0 in the third. Duphorn led off with a walk and stole second before moving to third on a sacrifice. He scored on Migliorini's sac fly. Rowan got on the board in the fourth. Harrold started the frame with an infield single. He came home on a double play.
The Profs broke through for four runs in the seventh. Catcher Zach Leach (so. Long Valley, NJ/Pope John XXIII) had a one-out walk and was replaced by pinch runner Frankie Aiello (so. Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo). Shortstop Nick Schooley (fr. Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) and Shane posted back-to-back singles, with Shane plating Aiello. Designated hitter Shawn Leydon (sr. Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) walked to load the bases. Kokos was hit by a pitch and Schooley trotted home. Harrold followed with another walk to score Shane. After a strikeout, Mendel drew another walk to force in Leydon.
The Yellow Jackets threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with one out. Ryback got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts, keeping the score at 5-2. Rowan tacked on a run in the ninth when Harrold touched the plate on Golla's groundout.
Left fielder Monny Strickland (sr. Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.), Kokos and Harrold all posted three hits in game two. Strickland knocked in three runs and scored one time. Harrold added one double, one RBI and three runs. Kokos tallied two RBIs and two runs. Shane scored twice while Mendel and Golla drove in one run apiece.
Right-hander Andrew DiPiazza (jr. Bayville, NJ/Central Reg.) earned the win in his Rowan debut. He threw five innings, giving up one run on five hits with six strikeouts. Righty Colin Selby (jr. Chesapeake, VA/Western Branch) took the loss (2-1).
Randolph-Macon second baseman Jeff Butler (jr. Chesapeake, VA/Western Branch) was two-for-three with a double. First baseman Joseph Tuzzolo (sr. Newport News, VA/Menchville) and Migliorini totaled one RBI and one run scored apiece. Duphorn contributed with a double.
The Profs struck for three runs in the first. Shane began the frame with a walk and stole second. Kokos plated Shane with a single to left. Harrold followed with a ground-rule double to right, putting runners at second and third. Strickland hit a two-run single to left for the final runs of the inning.
Each team produced a run in the second. Shane walked with one out and went to second on a fielder's choice. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Shane came home on Kokos' base knock through the right side. Tuzzolo homered to right in the bottom half to cut the deficit to three (4-1).
Rowan added three runs in the fifth. Leydon recorded a lead-off walk. Kokos, Harrold and Strickland combined for three straight singles, which tallied two runs. Harrold later scored on a wild pitch to make it a 7-1 lead for the Profs. Migliorini had a solo blast to right in the sixth to close the gap to five (7-2).
In the seventh, Harrold singled and moved to second on a passed ball. Strickland had a base hit to put runners on the corners. Mendel's ground-rule double to right brought home Harrold. Strickland scored the last run on a groundout by Golla.
The baseball team is home versus Arcadia University on Tuesday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m.