Baseball To Take On Rowan In NJAC Tournament
By Ryan Gaydos
@KUTowerSports
It will an early day for spectators Saturday as the Kean University baseball team will get set to host Rowan in the next round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament at 8:30 A.M. at Jim Hynes ’63 Stadium.
Both teams are coming into the game undefeated. Kean has defeated Richard Stockton College and The College of New Jersey to get to the point where it is at and Rowan has defeated William Paterson and Richard Stockton College as well. Both teams have prior knowledge of each other coming into this game.
The Cougars and the Profs played each other on Kean’s senior day prior to the start of the NJAC tournament. The series was split with the Cougars winning the first game 4-3 and then losing the next game 7-4. Rowan seems to have a bit of an edge coming into the game because they gave Kean a run for its money in both games. Plus the Profs have outscored opponents 28-5 in the tournament. A dangerous offense has yet to witness how the Cougars have played as of late.
It will be interesting to see who the Cougars start in the game. Will Rowan see Charles Thielmann, who has not pitched since the win against the Profs on April 27 or will it be Kevin Herget on four days rest? Thielmann would have the fresher arm of the two and if the Cougars win, it more than likely will be Herget to pitch in the final game Sunday.
Rowan is 30-12 this season and was 12-6 in the conference. Right now, they are the only team in the tournament that Kean should be worried about. The Profs’ offense has packed a punch in the earlier games and now with everything on the line, they do not want to have to play two games Saturday.
However, the Cougars are coming off a huge win powered by Ryan Kelley and Chris Amato, who are not normally used in games but were given a chance to prove themselves in big spots and they did, and with that sort of momentum it may be all the Cougars need to carry.
If Kean defeats the Profs Saturday morning they will not have to play again until Sunday at noon. If the Cougars lose, they face an elimination game against the Pioneers later Saturday.