Game 1 - Box Score
Game 2 - Box Score
UNION, NJ – The Rowan University softball team split a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) doubleheader with Kean University on Saturday. Kean had a 7-6 victory in the first game, while Rowan had a 6-1 win in the second contest.
The Profs are 13-7 overall and 1-1 in the NJAC. Kean has a 13-3 overall record and a 1-1 NJAC mark. In game one, Cougars’ right hander Maryelise Gierke (so. Glen Gardner, NJ/Voorhees) allowed four earned runs and struck out five batters for the complete game victory. Right hander Danielle Lawlor (so. Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) gave up seven runs in six innings for the Profs.
Kean was led by center fielder Katy McManus (jr. Edison, NJ/Edison) with three hits (four at bats), four RBIs, two doubles, one run scored and a home run. Third baseman Kara Schultz (jr. Clinton, NJ/North Hunterdon) went two for four with two runs scored and a double. Shortstop Johanna Hedler (jr. S. Plainfield, NJ/S. Plainfield), left fielder Jesse Buchanan (so. Washington Twp., NJ/Washington Twp.) and catcher Vicki Lanza (jr. Edison, NJ/Edison) each recorded two hits in four at bats.
For Rowan, first baseman Jamie Assini (sr. Deptford, NJ/E. Brunswick) was two for four with two RBIs and one run scored. Second baseman Lauren Navarro (jr. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) had one hit (three at bats), three RBIs, one run scored and a double. Center fielder Kristina Brenner (so. Vineland, NJ/Vineland) and left fielder Stacy Haas (sr. Florence, NJ/Florence Twp. Mem.) scored two runs apiece.
The Cougars took a 3-0 lead after a two run double by McManus in the first inning and a RBI double by Hedler in the second. Assini had a bunt single in the top of the third that scored Brenner and Navarro’s sacrifice bunt plated Haas. In the bottom half, Lanza singled in Schultz to put Kean up 4-2. The Cougars struck again with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Buchanan scored the first run on a wild pitch and McManus followed with a two run homer. The Profs got four runs in the top of the seventh, but Kean held on for the victory. Brenner came home on a single by Assini. Navarro added a two run double and she came home on a sacrifice fly by designated player Jen Lake (sr. Carneys Point, NJ/Penns Grove).
Rowan right hander Amanda Riegel (jr. Millville, NJ/Sacred Heart) went the distance in the second game for her fifth win of the year. Riegel scattered three hits and struck out five hitters. Right hander Kristen Hennings (jr. Jackson, NJ/Jackson Mem.) took the loss for Kean. Hennings gave up six runs in five innings.
Third baseman Kristin Wallace (jr. Glassboro, NJ/Washington Twp.) led the Profs with three hits (four at bats), one run scored and one RBI. Designated player Kim Ryan (sr. Monmouth Jct., NJ/S. Brunswick) went two for three with one run scored, one RBI and a double. Right fielder Heidi Smith (fr. Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley Reg.) was three for three with a double and one run scored.
For Kean, Hedler had one hit in three trips to the plate, one run scored and a double. Second baseman Sara Steinman (so. Springfield, NJ/Jonathan Dayton) chipped in with one hit (one at bat) and one RBI. McManus had the Cougars’ only other hit.
Kean got on the scoreboard first with one run in the top of the third inning. Steinman singled in Hedler, who reached base with a double. Rowan answered with two runs in the bottom half. Wallace singled in Assini and Ryan’s double brought home Wallace. In the fourth, Navarro had a sacrifice bunt that scored Brenner. Shortstop Sarah Carangelo (jr. Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) had a three run homer in the fifth inning.
Rowan hosts William Paterson University in a NJAC doubleheader on Tuesday, April 3 at 3 p.m.
