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.