Staff Report
A big reason why the Haddonfield baseball team has been an annual sectional title contender the past couple of years is the play of James Rowe.
Rowe, a lefty pitcher and position player, had a tremendous final year of his high school career this past spring, leading the Bulldawgs to 22 wins, a sectional finals appearance and a berth in the prestigious Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic tournament.
He hit .460 in 100 at-bats, with four home runs, 10 doubles, a triple and 35 RBIs, not to mention 10 walks and 10 stolen bases. There were only four games all year when he was completely held in check without a hit or a walk.
On the mound, he was just as good, picking up five wins in his 54 innings pitched, striking out 53 and walking just 15 while pitching to the tune of a 2.83 ERA. And it wasn’t like he was pitching against bad teams. He went up against the likes of Clearview, Shawnee, Northern Burlington, Haddon Heights, Kingsway and Audubon, among others.
For his career, Rowe had a 2.27 ERA in 86 innings pitched, and he racked up 79 strikeouts. At the plate, all he did was post 103 hits, 79 RBIs, 53 runs scored, 25 walks, 14 steals and 37 extra-base hits. He finished with a .417 average and a .615 slugging percentage.
— Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan
