Bringing the heat: Softball, baseball teams seek national titles

Rowan University’s softball and baseball teams are vying for national titles this week as both are competing in the NCAA Division III Championships for their respective sports.

Rowan is the only school in NCAA Division III to have both of its teams playing in the final round. It also marks the first time in school history that both squads are competing for the national title in the same year.

Softball

Rowan (48-2) faces Texas Lutheran (44-3) on Thursday, May 29, at 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. ET to open play from Inspiration Field in Bloomington, Illinois, on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan. 
 
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The No. 4 Profs made their way back to the Division III Championship Finals for the third year in a row and the ninth time in program history after going 5-0 at home over the NCAA Regional and NCAA Super Regional Rounds.
 
Last season, Rowan finished in third place at the Division III Championships in Marshall, Texas, standing as one of the final four teams remaining in the tournament.
 
Texas Lutheran, out of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, earned an at-large bid to the tournament and have made the most of its postseason opportunity, winning the Ithaca Regional in three games, then knocking off defending national champion East Texas Baptist in the Marshall Super Regional.
 
Rowan is seeded second in the tournament with Texas Lutheran slotted seventh. Other matchups on Thursday include No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan taking on No. 8 Randolph-Macon, No. 3 Trine battling No. 6 Redlands, and No. 4 Linfield clashing with No. 5 Saint Mary's (MN). 
 
Double-elimination play continues through Sunday, June 1, with the best-of-three finals starting on Tuesday, June 3.

Kim Wilson, who notched her 1,000^th Division III victory in March, is head coach of the Profs.
 
Baseball

Rowan (36-10) takes on fourth-ranked Denison (40-5) on Friday, May 30 at 4:45 p.m. ET at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake, Ohio.

The No. 15 Profs earned their sixth all-time trip to the Championship after dominating the NCAA Mount Union Regional and upsetting No. 5 Lynchburg with a sweep in the NCAA Super Regional.

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It marks Rowan’s second trip to the finals under head coach Mike Dickson, with the last coming in 2021. Rowan has won two NCAA baseball championships in its history, in 1978 and 1979.
 
Rowan and Denison met last season in the NCAA Regionals, hosted by Denison, with the Big Red scoring a pair of wins.
 
Denison advanced to this point after hosting both the Regionals and Super Regionals, recording a sweep of Belhaven last weekend.
 
The Profs are seeded seventh, with Denison earning the second seed. In the other first-round matchups, top-seeded Johns Hopkins faces No. 8 Messiah, No. 4 Endicott meets No. 5 Kean, and No. 3 UW-Whitewater takes on No. 7 Trinity (TX).

With fellow conference member Kean in the tournament, it marks the first time since 1985 that two NJAC schools are in the World Series together. The double-elimination format continues through Monday, June 2, with the best-of-three championship series running June 4-5.