GLASSBORO, NJ -- #4 Rowan returned from its Spring Break Trip in Florida and kept the wheels rolling after posting a pair of shutout wins over Eastern, 3-0, and 2-0, respectively Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader.
The Profs got key hits and used a triple play in game one to help catapult the team to two more wins on the year (22-0)
Senior
Payton MacNair set all-time games played program record, playing in her 199th and 200th career games, breaking the previous mark set my Shilah (Snead) Minerva from 2013-16.
Game one
Starter
Rylee Lutz went six innings of scoreless softball, allowing just five hits and three walks along with a pair of strikeouts to move to 9-0 on the year.
Emily McCutcheon spun the final frame to pick up her first save of the season.
Back-to-back singles from
Liz McCaffery and
McKenzie Melvin to start the third put two on with no outs. After moving up to third on a fly out to right, McCaffery scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the game. Two batters later, now with Melvin on third,
Breanna Bryant made it 2-0 with her two-out single.
Lutz worked out of a spot in the fourth with runners on second and third, getting a big K and then battling through a 15-pitch at bat from Eastern's Maeve Colligan, ending it with a flyout to center.
The defense worked its magic in the sixth, turning a big triple play. With runners on first and second, MacNair snared a liner over her head at short and was able to flip to McCaffery at second. The throw back to first from McCaffery to
Holly Markus was in time to double up the runner and end the threat.
Kate Evick doubled with one out in the sixth. Pinch runner
Mikayla Dansky came on to move up to third on a flyout to right. From there,
Zara MacNair added a big insurance run with her infield single to score Dansky.
Game two
McCutcheon (10-0) was back in the circle where she limited the Eagles to five hits and no walks, while fanning two batters.
Rowan crossed a run on a two-out error in the second and later an RBI single from Melvin in the fifth to account for the scoring.
Abigail Pawlowski walked to start the second and moved up to second on a groundout. Evick hit a grounder to short where it was bobbled, allowing Pawlowski to circle home for the early lead.
In the fifth, McCaffery reached on a fielder's choice, then stole second for Melvin who singled her in with the second run.
It was more than enough for McCutcheon who allowed just one baserunner after the fourth.
The Profs welcome Kean on Saturday as the two teams kick off NJAC play with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
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