MARSHALL, TX -- #13 Rowan moved on in the 2024 NCAA Championship Tournament just after the stroke of midnight with a 4-2 victory over #7 Case Western Reserve in an elimination game that started late Friday evening and ended early Saturday morning.

With the win, the Profs now play Wisconsin-OshKosh at 1:30 PM CT/2:30 ET on Saturday in another elimination contest.

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Kaitlyn Riggs had a big two-run single as part of a four-run fifth inning to help Rowan erase a 1-0 deficit.

Starter Emily McCutcheon threw into the top of the fifth, holding the Spartans to the one run on just three hits and would return in the seventh to close it out for her third save on the season.

CWR's Lexi Miskey allowed all four runs on just two hits with 10 strikeouts, but had five walks and a hit by pitch. She held the Profs without a hit until that fifth.



After a scoreless first inning in a game that started just after 10 p.m. CT, the Spartan's Katelyn Lamm homered to left with one out in the second. Rowan looked to answer in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back walks by Abigail Pawlowski and Zara MacNair led to a sacrifice bunt from Liz McCaffery to advance the two up a base. Miskey kept the Profs off the board with a K and a pop up to send it to the fourth.

Pawlowski helped end the fourth as she would snag a liner to left and double up the runner at second.

She then led off the fifth with her second walk of the game. MacNair layed down a bunt down the third base line that was touched by the third baseman in fair territory to put runners on first and second. The Spartans challenged the ruling on the field that the ball was not touched before slowly rolling into foul territory, but after an official review, the call was upheld. The next batter was McCaffery, who was nicked in the arm on a 1-2 pitch to load the bases for McKenzie Melvin, who would walk on four pitches to plate Pawlowski and knot the game up at 1-1. Two batters later and now with two outs, the runners moved up on a wild pitch, allowing MacNair to race home to give the Profs its first lead of the game. Riggs then stepped to the plate and hit a soft flare down the right field line to score Melvin and McCaffery for a three-run edge.

Rylee Lutz (20-7), who entered for McCutcheon in the fifth, limited the damage in the sixth to just one run after Case put runners on second and third earn the win.

McCutcheon came back out in the circle to start the seventh and got a key double play thanks to McCaffery who scooped up a grounder to second, tagged the advancing runner and threw to first for the final out of the contest to end it, sending the Profs to the next round and knock out the Spartans.