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MOOSIC, Pa. -- The Susquehanna baseball team took down No. 9 Rowan 5-4 on Thursday evening, the second straight victory for the Crusaders in the NCAA Tournament at PNC Field.
SU (30-12) now plays Baldwin-Wallace Saturday, May 17 at 4:30 p.m. in the winner's bracket. The game was scheduled for Friday but was postponed due to the rainy forecast.
Junior starting pitcher Casey Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa. / Susquehannock) threw a great game for his ninth win of the season, nearly going the distance as the lefty hurled 8.2 innings, striking out four and scattering 12 hits while allowing three earned runs.
Senior closer Matt Smith (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. / Wyoming Seminary), despite giving up a run on two hits, earned his 12th save of the season, his second in the NCAA playoffs.
The Crusaders had 13 hits, led by sophomore second baseman Dylan Glassmire (Doylestown, Pa. / Central Bucks South) who had three base knocks, including a pair of doubles.
Freshmen Taylor Luckenbill (Pottsville, Pa. / Nativity BVM), Dylan Jenkins (Glen Mills, Pa. / Bayard Rustin) and Tom Shields (Chalfont, Pa. / Central Bucks South) all had two hits apiece.
The Profs (33-11) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single to left field. But the Crusaders would not falter and put together a nice rally in the fifth frame.
In the fifth inning, Jenkins led off with a single to right and Shields would reach base on an error by Rowan's pitcher. After consecutive strikeouts, senior center fielder Ty Raubenstine (Elizabethville, Pa. / Upper Dauphin Area) came through in the clutch with a two-out two-run double to left center to give the Crusaders a 2-1 lead.
The scoring continued for SU in the sixth with Glassmire starting the inning off with a double down the right field line. After a bunt base hit by Bryan Palsi (Brielle, N.J. / Manasquan), junior Kyle Semmel (Burlington Twp., N.J. / Holy Cross) drove in Glassmire with an RBI sacrifice bunt. Jenkins recorded an infield single before Shields cracked a run-scoring base knock to left, handing SU a 4-1 advantage.
The Crusaders tacked on another run in the eighth as junior Jared Musilli (Branchville, N.J. / High Point Regional) drove in Shields to put SU up 5-1. In fact, Musilli's base knock was his 100th of his career.
But the Profs would not go away without a fight and scored three runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to get within one (5-4) before Smith recorded the final out to give the Crusaders their second-straight NCAA win.
