Smith College

MARSHALL, TX -- Emily McCutcheon earned Most Valuable Player honors in helping #16 Rowan to the 2026 NCAA Tournament Regional Title with two wins over the host and sixth-ranked East Texas Baptist on Saturday. The Profs took the first game, 2-1, and 2-0, in a winner-take-all game two.

Rowan heads to the NCAA Super Regional Round for the fourth year in a row and eighth in program history. The Profs will take on Colby College beginning on Thursday in a best-of-three series. Location and times will be unveiled by Sunday.

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Joining McCutcheon on the all-tournament team was Mikayla Dansky, Kate Evick, Zoey Rogers, as now the Profs are two wins away from a fourth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament.

In the clinching game, McCutcheon spun a six-hit shutout while Dansky knocked in both runs as the Profs held off the Tigers.

Dansky's infield hit in the second with runners on the corners was good enough to plate Carly Polsky from third to put Rowan ahead, 1-0.

The defense backed up its pitcher, turning in two double plays and getting an big outfield assist as Polsky threw out a runner at third on a fly out to right in the fourth.

Dansky's first RBI hit may not have gotten out of the infield but her second left no doubt as the sophomore led off the fifth with her third home run of the season, a shot over the left field fence for a two-run edge.

From there, the senior pitcher yielded just three hits over the final three innings to help lock up a super regional berth and give head coach Kim Wilson her fourth consecutive and seventh career 40-win season.

In the day's first game, McCutcheon fired a three-hit complete game, allowing one unearned run on just three hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

The Profs scored twice in the second on two hits and an error. With Abigail Pawlowski at second and Polsky at first, Emma Dobkin grounded out but heads up running from Pawlowski gave Rowan a 1-0 lead as she raced home on the throw to first and beat the tag attempt at the plate. Now with two outs and runners at the corners, Dansky's ball to third was misplayed, allowing Polsky to race home to make it 2-0.

With a runner on second in the third, ETBU took advantage of a two-out error in the frame to cut into the lead. Piper Morton came home from second off a wild throw to first on a grounder.

After that, McCutcheon did not allow a baserunner past second base as she got a 1-2-3 seventh to force the winner-take-all game.