Box Score CORTLAND, NY – The Rowan University softball team defeated SUNY Cortland, 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Cortland Regional on Saturday.
The Profs (37-8) advance to the regional final on Sunday, May 15 versus Cortland (37-10) at 11 a.m. The Red Dragons won 10-2 against Castleton University in the loser's bracket on Saturday afternoon.
Rowan scored its winning run in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, shortstop
Shilah Snead (sr. Malaga, NJ/Delsea Reg.) singled to center field. Left fielder
Mia Baldassari (so. Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Morris Knolls) followed with a base hit. Designated player
Ashley DeYoung (jr. Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) drove in Snead with a single to center field. Baldassari had two hits in two at bats on the day.
Right-hander
Beth Ann Hyland (sr. East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) was the winning pitcher. It was her sixth shutout on the season. She (23-4) scattered six hits and totaled six strikeouts. Righty Alexandrea Flint (jr. Dalton, NY/Keshequa) threw five innings and had the loss.
For the Red Dragons, shortstop Erin Wolstenholme (sr. Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) went three for three at the plate. In the fifth, Wolstenholme led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Alissa DePadua (so. Milford, PA/Delaware Valley). DePadua moved to second on a sac bunt. The Red Dragons had two straight popups to Snead to end the inning.
Cortland threatened again in the sixth with runners at first and second and one out. The second out was a popup to Snead and Hyland recorded a strikeout for the third. Right fielder
Morgan Smith (so. Millsboro, DE/Sussex Central) started the bottom half with a single to the right side. Second baseman
Carly Anderson (fr. Nutley, NJ/Nutley) walked. Pinch runner
Kristina Mueller (fr. Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) came in for Anderson. Jamie Lachall (jr. Philadelphia, PA/Sun Valley) took over on the mound for Flint. The runners advanced with a sac bunt by third baseman
Nicole Paiotti (so. Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills). With one out,
Angela Antonini (fr. Gibbstown, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) came in to pinch hit and walked. Lachall had a strikeout for the third out.
The national softball tournament is double elimination. The winner from each regional advances to the Super Regional, Friday-Saturday, May 20-21. The NCAA Championship Tournament is scheduled for Thursday-Tuesday, May 26-31 at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, VA.
Rowan was an automatic qualifier for the national tournament as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Champion. This is the Profs' 24th appearance and sixth straight in the NCAAs. Rowan has advanced to the national finals four times and finished fourth in 1994 and 1993. Last year, the Profs played in the Alfred Regional.
The regional tournament schedule and results are below.
Friday, May 13
Game 1: #2 SUNY 7, #3 Keuka College 3
Game 2: #1 Rowan University 4, #4 Castleton University 2
Saturday, May 14
Game 3: #1 Rowan University 1, #2 SUNY Cortland 0
Game 4: #4 Castleton University 9, #3 Keuka College 1 (5 inn.) (Keuka is eliminated.)
Game 5: #2 SUNY Cortland 10, #4 Castleton University 2 ( 6 inn.) (Castleton is eliminated.)
Sunday, May 15
Game 6: #1 Rowan University (37-8) vs. #2 SUNY Cortland (37-10), 11 a.m.
Game 7: same teams as game 6 (if necessary), TBA
