The Rowan University softball team hit the diamond for the first time here in Glassboro on Saturday as they took on New Paltz in a doubleheader. The Profs would end up winning the first game in six innings 8-0 but tie 2-2 in the second game, which ended early after five innings due to darkness.
Right-handed pitcher Lauren Shannon was pounding the zone in the first game as she pitched all six innings, striking out eight batters and giving up only three hits. Her teammates put up eight runs and had a total of 12 hits in the game.
“I felt really good today,” Shannon said. “My team had my back on the field and with the bats. It’s really easy when you have bat support with you.”
The Profs jumped out to a 5-0 lead within the first two innings and never looked back. The bats slowed down after the first three innings but they finished the job to get the win.
The Profs made hitting look easy in the first game. Right fielder Jesse DeDomenico had a day at the plate with three hits and scoring two runs. Second baseman Sonia Sharma went 2-4 with a double and two RBIs, and designated player Kelly Duffy also had two hits with one RBI.
In the second game, the Profs got caught sleeping early in the game, making five total errors in the field. They would go down 1-0 in the top of the first but would answer in the bottom of the inning with two runs to take the lead.
Rowan would maintain the lead but New Paltz put the pressure on and scored on an error to tie the game in the fourth. Even though DeDomenico started this game, Rowan would go back to Shannon in the fifth to get two outs to keep the game tied. DeDomenico was pitching well at the time, so the move could have been questioned, but it ended up working out for the Profs.
“We felt like we wanted to put Jesse back in the outfield and the batters that were coming up hadn’t seen Lauren and we thought she would have success,” Head Coach Kim Wilson said.
Shortly after that, the umpires would call the game because of darkness, ending it in a tie. Rowan would move to 3-2-1 on the season and New Paltz started their season without a win.
“I thought we had a pretty decent day,” Wilson said. “I thought we made mistakes in the season game where balls we should’ve fielded we didn’t and that led to a couple of runs. I think overall for the kids to hang in there in this weather was good.”
While it was most certainly cold on Saturday, the Profs leave for Florida this Thursday and it won’t be cold in the sunshine state. They will play 12 games in seven days before coming home to start conference play.
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