Marsch hits ground running after a year off from baseball

BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer

BRICK TOWNSHIP — It didn’t take Jordan Marsch of Brick long to shake off a year away from competitive baseball.

Marsch highlighted a tremendous week as the starting left fielder for Rowan University’s baseball team by hammering two home runs, including a grand slam home run in the first inning. He also had three hits for eight RBIs in a 19-7 victory over Denison University of Ohio.

Marsch led the Profs to a 4-0 week. He knocked in two runs in a 4-3 victory in Glassboro over Alvernia, including a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in the winning runs. Rowan trailed, 3-0 entering the ninth.

In the Rutt Matt Tournament in Winter Park, Fla., Marsch smashed three hits, including a home run, and batted in four runs in an 8- 3 victory over Worcester State.

“It was nice because I did that in front of my parents, who I hadn’t had a chance to see in a year and half since they’ve moved down there,” Marsch said.

He contributed to a 9-7 victory over Suffolk University with a double and an RBI.

Marsch’s efforts earned him recognition as Rowan University’s Male Athlete of the Week.

“In Virginia, I started off real slow with the average and I knew when we got to Florida, I had to pick it up,” said Marsch, who also was playing in left field rather than right field, which he prefers.

“They lost their left fielder and needed someone there,” he said. “I just wanted a chance to play.”

Marsch took the baseball season off last spring because he was spending that school year picking up the 18 credits he needed for an associate’s degree at Brookdale Community College, where he had played the previous two seasons.

“I still had some credits and wanted to make sure I got my degree and stayed there to finish my associate’s degree,” he said. “Although I could’ve taken 18 credits in one semester, I felt I wanted to take nine in each semester.”

He decided on Rowan.

“I was just looking for a school I was interested in that had my major (sociology), and my girlfriend is studying there,” Marsch said. “I did everything in my power to work on what I could in the off-season. It wasn’t really hard. I was overly excited to get back into it.”

It paid off for Marsch who, prior to Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of Western Connecticut State that set Rowan’s record to 9-3-1, was batting .357 with three home runs and 18 RBIs, both team highs. Even in the one game he did not start in left field, Marsch had a pinch run-scoring single against Fairleigh Dickinson- Florham, a 10-9 loss in Florida.

Rowan this week begins play in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and on Tuesday was scheduled to play Richard Stockton, where Marsch went against his former high school coach at Brick Township — Tom Webber, who is Richard Stockton’s pitching coach.

“I’m sending him emails,” said Marsch with a laugh.

Webber is a physical education teacher at Lake Riviera Middle School. The Pros play The College of New Jersey on Friday and take on Kean in a doubleheader on Saturday.

“I’m excited,” Marsch said. “It’s very competitive. The NJAC is the best conference in the country for Division III. But it’s not too big for me. I fit well into the competitiveness.”

Marsch speaks from experience. He was one of the leading players on the Brookdale team, a well-established national caliber junior college program. Marsch was the Region XIX player of the year in his second season.