Game 1 - Box Score
Game 2 - Box Score
GLASSBORO, NJ – The Rowan University softball team split a conference doubleheader with William Paterson University on Saturday. The Pioneers won the first game, 4-1 and the Profs took the second, 4-3 in eight innings.
Rowan has an overall record of 29-7 and a 14-2 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). With the win in the second game, the Profs clinched the number one seed in the NJAC Championship Tournament. William Paterson is 28-6 overall and 13-5 in the conference. The Pioneers will be the second seed in the conference tournament.
The NJAC Championship Tournament starts on Tuesday, April 28 with three first round games at the top three seeds. The remainder of the tournament will be at Rowan on Friday-Sunday, May 1-3. The NJAC champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
In the first game, right hander Michele Graham (fr. Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) pitched a complete game for the Pioneers’ victory. Graham (12-3) struck out eight batters. Righty Jackie Sasko (sr. Groveville, NJ/Steinert) took the loss. Sasko (16-3) totaled nine strikeouts.
First baseman Ashlie Gaynor (so. Berlin, NJ/Eastern Reg.) led William Paterson with three hits (three at bats), three RBIs and a double. Designated player Jenna Vitale (so. Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) was two for four with two doubles, one RBI and one run scored.
For Rowan, designated player Ashley Landi (so. Vineland, NJ/Vineland) totaled three hits in three at bats and one run scored. Catcher Steph Taraschi (jr. Mt. Ephraim, NJ/Audubon) and center fielder Kristina Brenner (sr. Vineland, NJ/Vineland) each contributed with two hits. Right fielder Heidi Smith (jr. Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley Reg.) had one RBI.
The Pioneers went up 2-0 in the second inning on a two RBI single by Gaynor. She knocked in pinch runner Raquel Roder (fr. Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken) and left fielder Heather Mendez (so. Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge). William Paterson tacked on two more runs in the third. Vitale’s double plated second baseman Lindsey Nadolny (so. Belford, NJ/Middletown N.). Gaynor singled home Vitale. The Profs’ run came in the bottom of the sixth. Smith drove in Landi with a single.
In the second contest, pinch hitter Jamie Parks (jr. Brick, NJ/Brick Twp.) drove in the winning run in the top of the eighth. Third baseman Julie Leskanic (fr. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) started the inning on second base because of the international tie-breaker rule. With two outs, Parks posted a single to right center field that scored Leskanic.
Right hander Amanda Singer (so. Monmouth Jct., NJ/E. Brunswick) was the winning pitcher. Singer (13-4) went eight innings and recorded eight strikeouts. Vitale (7-3) had the loss on the mound and she struck out six hitters.
Second baseman Jenna DiDonato (jr. Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) registered two hits (four at bats) and one RBI for the Profs. Smith added two hits (five at bats) and one run scored. Leskanic was one for three with one RBI and one run scored. First baseman Nicki Veneziano (fr. Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) and left fielder Casey Roselle (so. Sparta, NJ/Sparta) each had one hit and one run scored.
For the Pioneers, Nadolny was three for four with one RBI, two runs scored and a double. Vitale had two hits (four at bats) and one RBI. Center fielder Christina Zippler (jr. Blackwood, NJ/Washington Twp.) contributed with two hits (four at bats) and one run scored. Catcher Nicole Jimmerson (so. N. Bergen, NJ/High Tech) contributed with two hits (three at bats) and Gaynor had one RBI.
Rowan got on the scoreboard first with one run in the first inning. Leskanic walked with the bases loaded and Smith came home. William Paterson took the lead with two runs in the bottom half. Nadolny drove in Zippler with a single and later crossed the plate on Vitale’s single.
The Profs tied the score at two with one run in the second. DiDonato singled to right center field, scoring Roselle. Rowan went up 3-2 in the top of the third and William Paterson tied it in the bottom. Landi’s sacrifice fly scored Veneziano. Nadolny reached base with a single and came home on a sac fly by Gaynor.
Rowan ends the regular season at The College of New Jersey on Sunday, April 26 at noon. William Paterson hosts Wilkes University on Sunday at noon.
