Rowan softball swept the Kean Cougars in a two-game doubleheader on Saturday, March 29, to advance their record to 24-0. 

The first game was a tight affair through the first three innings, as there was no scoring from either side. The results on the mound for both Rylee Lutz for Rowan and Nikki Lusnia for Kean were a mixed bag, as Lutz gave up a few hits in the first few innings while Lusnia struggled with control and walked a few batters.

Kean struck first in the fourth inning, as Samantha Raymond was able to draw a walk, which allowed Maya Thompson to come to the plate and hit a double to score the first run of the game. Then, Kylie Petak singled to right field to score Thompson from second.

Kean added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning, when Thompson once again hit a single. Gina Mahlik did what Thompson did earlier and hit a double to score the runner from first.

The Profs made a comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning. The top of the lineup was due up to begin the innings, and they all did their jobs. Liz McCaffery got hit by a pitch, McKenzie Melvin hit a single to right, and during Payton MacNair’s at-bat, there was a wild pitch that allowed McCaffery to score. MacNair then hit a triple to score Melvin. Then came up the cleanup hitter, Abigail Pawlowski, who hit a single to score MacNair to complete the comeback and knot the game at 3-3. 

Rowan was not done in the inning, with Bryant reaching base on a fielder’s choice and being pinch run for with Mikayla Dansky. When Kate Evick hit a double off the wall, this allowed Dansky to score all the way from first to give the Profs the lead.

Lutz came out for the seventh to try to secure the win, but the Cougars responded back and scored another run to take the game into extra innings. 

Emily McCutheon came in to replace Lutz in the eighth inning and held Kean scoreless. 

In the bottom half of the inning, designated player Aly Reim came up with runners on first and second with no outs. Reim only had one thing in mind when she came up to the plate.

“See ball, hit ball,” Reim said. “I was struggling early in the game, so I just said to myself, see ball hit ball.”

That is exactly what Reim did, hitting a single into left field that scored the game-winning run.

“I was excited to help my team out in that big a spot,” Reim said.

The offense was not doing much for the first five innings, but finally struck in the sixth. The composure they showed is evident of a team that has been to the World Series multiple times.

“That just shows our maturity, our discipline,” head coach Kim Wilson said. “Would I love to have it earlier in the game? Absolutely, but we’re a mature team, we’ve got a lot of experience and we can score at any time.”

This was Rowan’s second time this season being down more than one run, and they were able to secure the win once again. 

On the other hand, the Profs’ offense on the other hand was a lot more explosive in game two compared to game one. The first runs of the game came in the third inning, with Melvin once again coming up in a big spot, this time hitting a double into right field, scoring the first run of the ball game. MacNair then hit a single to score Melvin to stretch the lead out to 2-0. 

This time, it was Kean who was able to stage a comeback. Thompson once again did some damage for the Cougars, this time hitting a deep fly ball over the center field wall to cut Rowan’s lead in half. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Cougars completed the comeback when Bella Truelove came in as a pinch hitter and hit an RBI single.

Rowan responded in the bottom half of the inning when both MacNair and Pawlowski walked. This brought up Rowan’s own pinch-hitter, Cami Morgan, who was getting her own opportunity in a big spot. The decision was an obvious one for Wilson. 

“She has been driving the ball lately,” Wilson said. “She is a good contact hitter, it was a good spot for her. I thought that was a pitcher she could see well, we needed a hit deep, and she did her job.”

On a 0-1 count, Morgan delivered the biggest hit of the game, a double into left-center field that allowed both MacNair and Pawlowski to score, giving Rowan the lead.

“I wasn’t trying to do too much, just trying to look for something I could hit hard,” Morgan said. “I was just so happy to help my team.”

Game two saw the return of McCutcheon, pitching after picking up the win in game one. She was almost flawless throughout the second game, giving up one home run to Thompson and another one that was influenced by the wind. Other than that, she picked up her second win of the day in addition to five strikeouts.

“She did a good job,” Wilson said. “They are a good hitting team, they put the ball in play, and the defense played. She gave up one, but the wind was 30 miles per hour, and when a ball gets in the jet stream and it never stopped.”

Kate Evick hit another single that gave Rowan one more insurance run. The rest of the game was quiet, allowing Rowan to take home the 5-2 win.

The team won two more games on Tuesday, April 1, to officially record their best start (26-0) in a season in program history, topping the 25-0 start from 2015.

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