When a team is a mainstay in the top-10 of the national rankings, it’s presumed they are a machine running at top-gear, all cogs clicking harmoniously making them an unstoppable force.
In that sense, the Rowan softball team is an anomaly.
“I don’t think we’ve played even close to the potential we have,” head coach Kim Wilson said.
Wilson’s team recently returned from a 12-game stint in Kissimmee, Florida for the Rebel Spring Games tournament, which yielded 11 wins.
During their stay, the Profs’ pitching produced five shutouts and two one-run outings. The pitching-by-committee approach Wilson has employed has proven to be a successful venture for the Profs thus far in the season.
Freshman Jesse DeDomenico has stepped into the circle and exceeded prior expectations. Of the five shutouts the Profs pitched, it was DeDomenico tossing three of them, including a no-hitter against Hamilton College.
“It feels good,” DeDomenico said. “I wasn’t really expecting to come in and have the success I’ve had.”
DeDomenico isn’t the only freshman spinning spectacular games for Rowan, though. Lauren Shannon, the right-hander from Washington Township High School, is joining in on the shutouts. Shannon tallied her own shutout against McDaniel College.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had even one pitcher as a freshman be a dominating force, and to have two who are totally different, is outstanding,” Wilson said. “I think we’re getting everything we hoped to get from them. They don’t look like freshman on the mound.”
But, as the pitching propels the Profs to the lofty win total, it’s the bats that Wilson alluded to that aren’t yet hitting to their potential.
The Profs averaged just under five runs per game at the Rebel Spring games, and are averaging a bit under six per game on the season — which is only a run less than their team last year which finished third in the country.
When the Profs’ bats come alive and are conflated with their dominant pitching rotation, they could be a terrifying team for not only the New Jersey Athletic Conference, but the nation.
Rowan will finally be able to stay somewhat local — as opposed to games in Florida and Virginia — this Thursday in a double-header at Neumann University in Aston, Pa.
The Knights are returning from their own set of games in Florida (they went 3-5 in Clermont, Florida) for their home opener.
Last season the two teams met in a double-header, only playing a combined 10 innings. Rowan won both games by mercy rule.
Starting shortstop Carly Anderson had four total RBIs between the two games, and helped pace the Profs to easy victories.
The doubleheader starts at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.
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