Rowan Baseball Off to Another Impressive Start
Rowan University’s baseball program has been a participant in the NCAA tournament in six of the last nine years and the Profs are making another serious run this year.
Coached by former Gloucester Catholic and Rowan star Mike Dickson, the Profs began this week with a 13-4 record. They were ranked No. 6 nationally in the most recent (at press time) D3baseball.com Top 25.
What makes Rowan’s accomplishments even more impressive is that the Profs compete in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, considered among the more competitive leagues in Division III.
Not surprisingly Rowan has been aided by a strong South Jersey contingent.
The offense is led by junior outfielder Phil Sedalis, a graduate of Deptford.
Last season he earned second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-American honors in his first year at Rowan after beginning his career at Salem Community College.
He began this week hitting .465 with six home runs and 25 RBI and a 1.403 OPS
A year ago, Sedalis set the Rowan single-season record for hits (86), runs (63) and triples (8). He batted .413 with 13 doubles, eight triples, six home runs and 60 RBI.
“He is one of the best players in the country,” Dickson said.
The Rowan coach feels that Sedalis’ better days are ahead since in high school, he ran track in Deptford before switching to baseball as a senior.
Another major offensive contributor is senior second baseman Tyler Cannon, a product of Gloucester Catholic, who played his first two collegiate seasons at Iona.
He began the week hitting .405 with a team-high 28 runs and was 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts.
Major power has been provided by designated hitter Dylan Maria, a Highland graduate. Through the first 17 games, he was batting .361 with 9 home runs, 33 RBI and a .792 slugging percentage.
Among the key pitchers are junior righthander Sean Colbert, a graduate of Audubon, who is in his second season at Rowan after beginning his career at Rowan College of Gloucester County.
Colbert has been among the top relief pitchers in Division III with an ERA of 0.90 and two saves. Brayden Davis, a freshman from Seneca was 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his first five collegiate relief appearances.
As for the starters, righthander Mike Shannon, a senior from Triton, has been a big-game pitcher throughout his Rowan career.
In 2022, he went 4-0 while pitching against New Jersey Athletic Conference teams.
Last year he was a second-team all-conference selection and earned the win in a 4-3 victory over Susquehanna that advanced Rowan to the NCAA Super Regional. In that game, he allowed two earned runs in 8 1/3 innings pitched.
This season Shannon is 3-1 with a 3.41 ERA. His lone loss was last week’s 1-0 loss to Kean in which he pitched a nine-inning complete game and struck out a career high 11.
Zach Coluccio, a junior righthander from Timber Creek, is another key South Jersey product in the starting rotation. In his first five outings, including four starts, he was 3-0 with a 1.18 ERA
There have been so many other key contributions for a Rowan team that has high postseason expectations once again.
Photo of Phil Sedalis: Courtesy Chris Taylor/Rowan Athletics
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Author: Marc Narducci
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