Game One - Box Score
Game Two - Box Score
WAYNE, NJ – The Rowan University softball team split a conference doubleheader at William Paterson University on Sunday. The Profs won the first game, 3-1 and the Pioneers took the second, 3-2.
Rowan has a 19-2 record while William Paterson is 12-4 overall. Both teams are 1-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Profs were ranked ninth in last week’s National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll.
In the first game, right-hander Jamie Minix (sr. Clarksboro, NJ/Kingsway Reg.) threw a complete game. She (9-1) only allowed four hits and struck out four batters. Righty Kelsey Hand (jr. Mountainville, NY/Cornwall Central) took the loss. Hand (2-1) pitched three innings and gave up two earned runs on six hits.
Rowan shortstop Ashley Minch (sr. Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville Mem.) went three for four with one RBI. Catcher Nicolina Veneziano (sr. Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) contributed with two hits (four at bats) and one run scored. First baseman Stephanie Labas (jr. Millville, NJ/Millville) and third baseman Julie Leskanic (sr. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) each chipped in with one hit and one RBI. Labas registered a double. Right fielder Lauren Davis (sr. Ewing, NJ/Ewing) added one hit (two at bats) and scored one run.
For William Paterson, right fielder Samantha Mulderig (jr. Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) went two for three with a home run. Shortstop Katelyn Miele (so. Flanders, NJ/Pope Johnson XXIII) and second baseman Christina Austin (fr. Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) produced one hit apiece in three at bats.
The Profs went up 2-0 in the top of the third inning. Davis reached base with a single through the right side and she later went home on Labas’ ground out. Minch plated Veneziano with a single. Rowan had one more run in the fifth. With one out, Labas had a double and she was replaced by pinch runner Ally Zitzman (fr. Middletown, NJ/Middletown N.). Zitzman advanced to third on Minch’s single and she crossed the plate on a ground out with Leskanic at bat. William Paterson’s lone run was homer by Mulderig in the bottom of the seventh.
Right-hander Michele Graham (sr. Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) was the winning pitcher in the second contest. Graham (7-1) scattered eight hits and gave up two earned runs. She had four strikeouts. Righty LeAnne Miller (jr. Vineland, NJ/Vineland) allowed three earned runs in the loss. Miller (9-1) totaled six strikeouts.
The Pioneers’ pinch hitter Danielle Capozzi (so. Wanaque, NJ/Lakeland Reg.) went one for one with a triple, two RBIs and one run scored. First baseman Jessica Phillips (fr. Woolwich, NJ/Kingsway Reg.) and Mulderig each had two hits in three trips to the plate. Second baseman Jessica Maciolek (sr. Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) and Miele each tallied one hit and one run scored.
Labas collected two hits (four at bats) and a home run, which was her eighth on the season. Second baseman Nicole Escudero (jr. Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) and Davis each had two hits in three at bats. One of Escudero’s hits was a double. Center fielder Shannon Costello (fr. East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) went one for three with one run scored.
Rowan got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth inning. Costello, Escudero and Davis all had a single to load the bases. Designated player Katie Trotter (jr. Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) had a sacrifice fly, scoring Costello. In the bottom half, William Paterson went ahead 3-1. Capozzi recorded a two RBI triple and she crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Labas had the Profs’ second run with a solo shot in the seventh inning.
Rowan travels to Richard Stockton College on Tuesday, April 3 for a conference doubleheader at 3 p.m.
