Box Score CORTLAND, NY – The Rowan University softball team won 4-2 over Castleton University (VT) in the first round of the NCAA Cortland Regional Tournament on Friday.
The Profs (36-8) play SUNY Cortland (36-9) in the second round on Saturday, May 14 at 10 a.m. Cortland defeated Keuka College, 7-3 in the first game on Friday. Castleton (20-12) meets Keuka (19-13) at noon in the loser's bracket.
Rowan trailed 2-1 after one run in the fourth inning. Right fielder
Morgan Smith (so. Millsboro, DE/Sussex Central) led off with a single and advanced to second on a sac bunt by second baseman
Carly Anderson (fr. Nutley, NJ/Nutley). First baseman
Damariz Mercado (jr. Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) plated Smith with a single to left field.
The Profs took the lead with two runs in the fifth. Center fielder
Gianna Genello (fr. West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell), shortstop
Shilah Snead (sr. Malaga, NJ/Delsea Reg.) and left fielder
Mia Baldassari (so. Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Morris Knolls) each hit a single and the bases were loaded. Designated player
Ashley DeYoung (jr. Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) walked, scoring Genello. Anderson got on with a fielder's choice and Snead crossed the plate. In the sixth inning, Mercado scored on an error with Genello at bat.
Right-hander
Beth Ann Hyland (sr. East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) pitched a complete game for the victory. She (22-4) gave up four hits and two earned runs. Hyland struck out seven batters. Pitcher Kayla Wood (jr. Dummerston, VT/Brattleboro) took the loss. She (9-3) allowed seven hits and four runs, three earned.
Baldassari ended the contest with two hits, one double. Snead, Smith, Genello and Mercado all contributed with one hit and one run. Mercado also had one RBI along with DeYoung and Anderson.
Designated player Chelsea Grady (sr. Western Springs, IL/Lyons Twp.) recorded a two-run homer in the first inning, which put the Spartans up 2-0. Catcher Brittany Brayman (sr. Hartford, NY/Hartford) singled up the middle and Grady followed with a home run down the left field line. Brayman went two for three at the plate.
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: #2 SUNY Cortland (36-9) vs. #1 Rowan University (36-8), 10 a.m.
Game 4: #3 Keuka College (19-13) vs. #4 Castleton University (20-12), noon
Game 5: winner of game 4 vs. loser of game 3, 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 15
Game 6: winner of game 3 vs. winner of game 5, noon
Game 7: same teams as game 6 (if necessary), 2:30 p.m.
