Rowan baseball finishes No. 7 nationally

It was quite a season for the Rowan University baseball team, which ended up ranked No. 7 in the country in the final D3basebal.com national poll. The Profs (29-6) earned a berth into the Division III World Series, the sixth in school history. Rowan also won the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) tournament. Not surprisingly, the Profs received many contributions from players who are from the seven-county South Jersey area. It begins with coach Mike Dickson, a graduate of Gloucester Catholic, who has done a great job recruiting not just in South Jersey, but the entire state and even beyond. Here are some of the key players who attended schools in the seven-county South Jersey area. Designated hitter Ryan McIsaac, a senior from Millville, was a first-team all-conference choice. He hit a team-best .407 and also led the Profs in hits (64), doubles (18), and total bases (101). McIsaac also hit 5 home runs and drove in 26. McIsaac holds the Rowan record with consecutive games with a base hit (29), which was finally snapped on May 29. Drew Ryback, a senior lefthander from Clearview, was named the NJAC Pitcher of the Year and also named to the NJAC All-Conference 1st Team. He was 8-2 with a 3.46 ERA. In 80 ? innings he had 68 strikeouts and 21 walks. Ryback also had a team-high three complete games. Eli Atiya, a sophomore lefthander from Cherry Hill West, was also a first-team all-NJAC choice. He went 9-2 with a 1.68 ERA. in 69 ? innings, he struck out 72 and walked 18. He earned the victory in the 8-3 win over William Paterson that clinched the NJAC Championship. Righthander Zach Listro, a senior from Kingsway starred as the Profs’ closer. He was named NJAC Fireman of the Year. In 18 relief appearances, he was 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA and seven saves. His WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched was 0.87. Mike Shannon, a sophomore righthander from Triton, went 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in four appearances, including one start. Nick Schooley, a senior shortstop from Cherokee, was a first-team all-NJAC selection. He batted .336 with a .468 on base percentage, 12 doubles, one home run and 29 RBI. Jason O’Neill, a sophomore righthander from Williamstown, made 15 relief appearances and had a 3.13 ERA. Outfielder Jason Bobiak, a junior from Gloucester Catholic, appeared in 21 games, with 13 starts. He hit .259 with 15 runs scored and 14 RBI. Senior outfielder Trip McCaffrey of Clearview, hit .255 while appearing in 31 games, including 30 starts. He scored 21 runs,knocked in 17 and had a .356 on base percentage. Junior first baseman Eric DiDomenico from Paul VI hit .258 with three home runs and 17 RBI, while starting 25 games. There were other players from South Jersey on the roster, but these were the key local contributors for this year’s World Series participant.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Related Articles

-

- Seizing the Moment

After the spring season was canceled last year due to the pandemic, these standout student-athletes from South Jersey are hoping to make the most of their opportunities in 2021.

- SJ Sports: South Jersey`s Best

With all the sports, and all the great teams in South Jersey history, it's nearly impossible to pick a list of the best. Different teams playing in different eras are difficult to compare. Arguments could be made for hundreds of teams in a variety of sports, but despite the difficulty of the task, South Jersey SportsClub has ranked the Top 20 teams of the past 25 years, and you can see the results here...

---

Author: by Marc Narducci