Emily McCutcheon dominated on Thursday in a nail biting, 1-0, walk off win against Colby College in Game 1 of the Glassboro Super Regional. The Rowan Profs are now one win away from reaching the Division III Championship Series for three consecutive years.
The Profs were able to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh after Carly Polsky singled and Gia DiMeglio stole second. The pinch runner scored after Zara MacNair stepped in the batter’s box and delivered the knockout blow — a weak ground ball over to second that the Mules second basemen threw past first, allowing DiMeglio to score and the Profs to win.
“I knew I was on it,” MacNair said. “If I kept chipping away, eventually she would throw it where I wanted it to get it to a spot to either move a runner or potentially go through.”
The Profs southpaw McCutcheon and Mules lefty Sophia Meade traded zeros in the pitcher’s duel, with both teams only tallying eight hits combined.
McCutcheon has dominated the postseason and continued her success by pitching another complete game shutout — her fifth complete game in as many games. On Thursday she only gave up three hits and struck out two in just 75 pitches.
“I think we play kind of in a flush mentality,” McCutcheon said. “Even if we give up a run early, we flush it and we’re back to 0-0. One run to us isn’t enough and we want more.”
Another dramatic finish for Rowan showed off how resilient the Profs have been all season. All but one of the Profs wins this NCAA tournament have been decided by just one run.
“We’ve been that way all year,” head coach Kim Wilson said. “If we were the same team we were at the beginning of the year, we would not be here. They’ve continued to work hard, continued to allow us to coach them, and they’ve continued to improve.”
Meade impressed Colby. The sophomore allowed just the one unearned run and struck out seven, including a first inning where she struck out the side.
“I thought everything was working really well,” Meade said. “I just had to work around the strike zone and keep going after hitters.”
Colby head coach Terran Allen praised her team’s effort despite the heartbreaking ending.
“We fought with them for seven innings,” Allen said. “Unfortunately that’s the way the game ended, but we’re going to come out strong tomorrow and stick to the game plan.”
Defensively the Profs were invulnerable. Shortstop Zoey Rogers and third base Maggie Funston, both freshman, made several tremendous plays to aid the Rowan victory. Performances like these have defined Rowan’s postseason success.
“To replace our infield from last year and be as successful as we are is kind of amazing,” Wilson said. “Their heart is in it, and they’ve excelled at everything we’ve thrown at them.”
The win moves Rowan one victory away from another trip to the Division III Women’s College World Series. Game 2 of the Super Regional is scheduled for Friday in Glassboro.
For comments/questions about this story, DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email [email protected]
