Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 EWING, NJ – The Rowan University softball team swept conference opponent The College of New Jersey, 6-4 and 9-0 in five innings on Thursday. 
 
The Profs, ranked sixth, are undefeated with a 22-0 record.  They tied the school record for longest win streak from March 16-April 13, 1997.  Rowan has a 4-0 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).  The Lions are 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference. 
 
Right-hander Beth Ann Hyland (jr. East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) threw five relief innings for the win in the first game.  She (9-0) allowed four hits and two runs, one earned.  Hyland struck out six batters.  Ashtin Helmer (jr. Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) had the loss on the mound.  She (3-2) pitched a complete game and gave up four earned runs on 10 hits.  Helmer had seven strikeouts.
 
First baseman Damariz Mercado (so. Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) led Rowan at the plate with three hits (four at bats), three RBIs, a double, one home run and two runs.  Third baseman Jessica Phillips (sr. Woolwich, NJ/Kingsway Reg.) produced three hits.  Left fielder Mia Baldassari (fr. Hopatcong, NJ/Morris Knolls) plated one run.  Second baseman Alysa Romero (sr. Newfield, NJ/Vineland) had a double and scored one run.  Designated player Morgan Smith (fr. Millsboro, DE/Sussex Central) and right fielder Sammy Vradenburg (so. Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) each contributed with a hit and one run.
 
For TCNJ, second baseman Bria Bartsch (fr. Montville, NJ/Mount Saint Dominic Academy) and designated player Kristen Fitzsimmons (jr. Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Mem.) totaled two hits and two RBIs apiece.  Shortstop Steph Vuono (jr. Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Reg.) added two hits.
 
The Lions had a 3-1 lead after four innings.  The Profs scored two runs in the fifth.  With two outs, Romero doubled to right field and came home on an error.  Mercado drove in Smith with a single.  Baldassari's RBI single gave the Profs' the lead in the sixth.  Rowan was ahead 6-3 after the top of the seventh inning.  Mercado homered to center field and scored pinch runner Rosalie Hood (fr. Egg Harbor City, NJ/Cedar Creek).  Fitzsimmons knocked in TCNJ's final run with a single in the bottom half.
 
Rookie Ashley Lesch (fr. Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) recorded the shutout in the nightcap.  In five innings, she (5-0) struck out five batters and only gave up three hits.  Pitcher Katie Hourihan (jr. Neptune, NJ/Neptune) went 3.2 innings in the loss. 
 
Romero contributed with two hits, a home run and five RBIs.  She also crossed the plate two times.  She recorded a three-run homer in the second inning.  Shortstop Shilah Snead (jr. Malaga, NJ/Delsea Reg.) scored three runs and had two hits.  Baldassari chipped in with two hits, a triple, one RBI and two runs.  Mercado drove in two runs.  Phillips tallied two hits, a double and one RBI.  Smith and Hood each scored one run. 
 
Rowan plays at Ramapo College on Saturday, April 4 in a NJAC doubleheader at 2 p.m.