Game 1 - Box Score
Game 2 - Box Score
GLASSBORO, NJ – The College of New Jersey softball team swept Rowan University, 4-1 in eight innings and 4-2 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) doubleheader on Thursday.
Seventh ranked TCNJ has a 28-6 record and is in first place of the conference with a 14-2 mark. Rowan is 25-10 overall and 11-5 in the NJAC. The Profs are 20th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. In the latest NCAA East Region, TCNJ is first while Rowan is fifth.
Right-hander Ashley Minervini (sr. Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park) was the winning pitcher in the first game. Minervini (13-4) scattered six hits and had four strikeouts. Righty Jamie Minix (so. Clarksboro, NJ/Kingsway Reg.) took the loss. Minix (15-4) gave up eight hits and three earned runs. She struck out six batters.
TCNJ left fielder Crystal Lee (so. Dover, NJ/Morris Knolls) was two for three at the plate. Shortstop Ellen Seavers (sr. Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) and designated player Katelyn Congilose (so. Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) each had a double, one RBI and one run scored. First baseman Cailtyn Seamster (jr. Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) and catcher Michelle Kent (so. Sparta, NJ/Pope John) contributed with one hit and one RBI apiece.
For Rowan, right fielder Heidi Smith (sr. Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley Reg.) collected two hits in four at bats. Catcher Steph Taraschi (sr. Mt. Ephraim, NJ/Audubon) registered a double and one RBI. Second baseman Jenna DiDonato (sr. Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) scored one run. Designated player Jamie Parks (sr. Brick, NJ/Brick Twp.), first baseman Stephanie Labas (fr. Millville, NJ/Millville) and left fielder Casey Roselle (jr. Sparta, NJ/Sparta) all had one hit.
The score was tied at one after seven innings. TCNJ recorded three runs in the top of the eighth. Second baseman Ashley Sogluizzo (fr. Middletown, NJ/Middletown S.) started on second base because of the international tiebreaker. She advanced to third on a sac bunt and came home on a fielder’s choice. Congilose drove in Seavers with a double to right center fielder. Seamster’s single brought home Congilose.
Rowan had got on the scoreboard first with one run in the sixth inning. DiDonato reached base on a fielder’s choice. Taraschi followed with a double to left center field, scoring DiDonato. The Lions tied the game in the seventh. Center fielder Danielle Hagel (sr. Egg Harbor City, NJ/Oakcrest) led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Michelle Casale (fr. Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex). Casale advanced to second on a sac bunt by Congilose. Kent drove home Casale with a single.
In the nightcap, right-hander Lauren Fitzsimmons (so. Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) got the win on the mound. She (15-1) allowed two earned runs and struck out seven batters. Righty Erika Knorr (jr. Monroeville, NJ/Delsea Reg.) was the losing pitcher. Knorr (3-2) allowed four runs, one was earned.
Seamster led the Lions with a two run homer. Hagel and Congilose each had one hit (three at bats) and one RBI. Seavers, Sogluizzo and Casale scored one run apiece. Right fielder Colleen Cawley (jr. Riverton, NJ/Holy Cross) was two for two at the plate with a double.
Third baseman Julie Leskanic (so. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) produced two hits (three at bats) and one run scored. Smith had one hit (four at bats) and one RBI. Roselle added one hit (two at bats) and one RBI.
Rowan went up 1-0 in the top of the third inning. Leskanic reached base with a single and later came home on a single by Smith. All four of TCNJ’s runs came in the bottom of the sixth. Sogluizzo got on base by an error. Hagel singled home Sogluizzo. Congilose had a RBI single that scored Seavers. Seamster recorded a two run shot over the center field fence. The Profs had their last run in the seventh. Roselle drove in shortstop Ashley Minch (so. Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville Mem.) with a single.
Rowan travels to William Paterson University on Saturday, May 1 at 1 p.m. for the last two conference games of the regular season. TCNJ ends the regular season at home on Saturday against New Jersey City University at 1 p.m.
