Rowan softball takes down Tufts to advance to NCAA Regional Final

No. 4 Rowan softball advanced to the NCAA Regional Final after defeating the Tufts Jumbos 3-2 on Saturday, May 17, in the semi-finals. They are just one win away from advancing to their third-straight NCAA Super Regional.

The game between Rowan and Tufts originally began on Friday, May 16, and progressed through two innings before a torrential rainstorm in Glassboro forced a postponement until the next day with the score 2-1 in Tufts favor.

Sophia Dicoco was the starting pitcher for the Jumbos in this game and was looking to have another strong outing. She went five innings with just one run allowed and three hits versus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in round one of the Glassboro Regional on Thursday, May 15. Senior Rylee Lutz was just four strikeouts away from notching her 100th strikeout on the season heading into her 99th Career Start.

Despite the Early Struggles for Lutz in the first two innings against Tufts allowing two Runs, Lutz was able to shutout the Jumbos over the Next five Innings and give up just four hits in her outing and picking up her 20th win on the season. Following the win over the Jumbos, Lutz achieved her third-straight season with 20 more wins and 100+ strikeouts.

Rowan was able to strike first in the top of the first with a RBI single by Abigail Pawlowski to bring home McKenzie Melvin to put the Profs up 1-0. The Jumbos were able to respond off of Lutz in the Bottom of the inning with a 2 RBI double by Heaven Oliva to give Tufts the 2-1 lead heading into Saturday.

Play resumed on Saturday in the top of the third with Rowan down one. Payton MacNair was at the plate and hit an RBI double to score Melvin and tie things up 2-2.

Tufts would have runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the fourth after a double by Keirann Slayton. But, the door would be shut after Lutz forced Lauryn Horita into a pop out to end the third.

“I didn’t change my approach. I gave myself as much Confidence as I can and relied on my defense if any pitches were hit,” Lutz said.

The Profs opened the top of the fourth inning with back-to-back singles from Kate Evick and Holly Markus to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Zara MacNair followed with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt, advancing both runners to second and third. After a popout by Liz McCaffrey for the second out, Melvin stepped up and delivered, reaching on a throwing error by Haley Leimbach which allowed pinch-runner Makayla Dansky, who entered the game for Evick, to score and give Rowan a 3-2 lead.

Following the miscue, the Jumbos made a pitching change, pulling starter Dicoco from the circle and turning to reliever Lacy Chilek. Chilek had thrown two scoreless innings of relief just a day earlier against RPI in the opening round of the NCAA Regional, and was now tasked with keeping the deficit at just one run.

Chilek delivered under pressure, retiring Payton MacNair, who had tied the game earlier in the 3rd inning, on a popup to end the threat and close out the top half of the fourth inning. Chilek for Tufts would continue her domination in the circle, as she allowed no hits and recorded three strikeouts to the Profs offense over the next two innings. 

Tufts had several chances to tie the game, but Lutz continued to dominate in the circle, holding the Jumbos in check until the top of the seventh. That’s when Madi Sewell broke through with a one-out single, putting the tying run on first and bringing the top of the order back to the plate. 

With the pressure mounting, Head Coach Kim Wilson made a pitching change, calling on Emily McCutcheon to come in and record the final two outs. McCutcheon Pitched six scoreless in Rowan’s 8-0 Win over SUNY-Cortland in round 1 of the NCAA Regional on Thursday. Bela Jimenez lined McCutcheon’s pitch into center field and Melvin made a diving catch to rob Jimenez of a hit. This got Lutz out of a jam and prevented another run from scoring.

“I was holding my breath, I had to make that play and it had a close chance of dropping,” Melvin said. “But I wanted to make sure I got the second out and ease the pressure off of us[team].”

The game was all up to Kaitlyn Perucci. She hit a ground ball to Payton MacNair, who tossed it to McCaffrey covering second base, and the Profs secured their spot in the NCAA Regional Final.

Rowan will Face the SUNY-Cortland Red Dragons once again on Sunday, May 18. They beat the Red Dragons earlier in the week 8-0 and are now one win away from punching their ticket to their third straight Super Regional.

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