SALEM, VA -- Rowan won its 2026 NCAA Division III Championship opener, knocking off previously unbeaten and top-ranked Virginia Wesleyan, 3-2, on Thursday at the Moyer Sports Complex.
The eighth-seeded Profs will play tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Redlands, who took down Linfield, 9-7 on Thursday as well.
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Emily McCutcheon, who was just
named to her third-straight NFCA All-American team, proved her worth by keeping the Marlins hitless through five innings and working out of a late jam in the seventh after VWU rallied with two runs to earn the win.
Kate Evick,
Abigail Pawlowski, and
Emma Dobkin each had RBI hits while
Zoey Rogers scored twice and stole a base for the Profs (43-9).
It was more than enough for McCutcheon (7 IP, 2K, BB, 2 ER, 107 P) who improved to 22-5 on the season. She did not allow a baserunner until the fourth, and the her first hit until the sixth.
Evick helped Rowan get on the board in the first as her two-out flare down the left field line to score Rogers made it 1-0.
The Profs would threaten with runners on in both the second and third innings before coming through in the fourth. With two on, Rogers scored again as Pawlowski singled her in for a 2-0 lead. Now with runners on the corners,
Emma Dobkin followed with base hit to plate pinch runner
Lauren Foltz to stretch the lead to three.
A lead-off single and ensuing double in the bottom of the seventh put runners in scoring position for the Marlins. Alison Pollack drove in a run on a sac fly while Oliva Knight followed with an RBI single to cut the lead down to one. McCutcheon and the defense came through getting a big foul out from
Ava Fisher down the first base line and Rogers snagging a soft pop up at short to end it and hand Virginia Wesleyan its first loss of the season (50-1).
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