Glassboro, NJ – Junior righthander Alex Hill (Parsippany, NJ, Parsippany Hills) tossed a three-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts as second-seeded Montclair State blanked top-seeded Rowan University, 2-0 in the NJAC Softball Championship on Saturday morning.

Senior leftfielder Kelli O'Brien (Edison, NJ, Edison) and freshman shortstop Jaclyn Allegretta (Hackensack, NJ, Hackensack) each had a run batted for the Red Hawks (40-3), who now advance to Sunday's championship round. MSU will face No. 6 seed Kean University at 11:00 am needing just a win to claim its fourth conference title and first since 2008.

If necessary, a second game will be played immediately afterward with the winner claiming the league title and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

Hill improved to 32-3 on the season, tying her own single-season record for victory as she fanned 10 or more batters in a game for the 20th time this season. She also recorded her 15th shutout of the season.

Hill, the NJAC Pitcher of the Year, struck out five of the first six batters she faced through the opening two innings before the Red Hawks were able put a run on the board against the Profs' LeAnne Miller in the third.  

Melany Zeller (Bloomfield, NJ, Bloomfield), who had three RBI in Friday's win over TCNJ, singled to lead off the inning and O'Brien sacrificed pinch runner Chantall Whittick (East Orange, NJ, Immaculate Conception) to second. Allegretta then punched a single down the left field line for the game's first run.

Hill continued to shut down the Profs as she didn't allow a hit until one out in the sixth inning. Meanwhile the Red Hawks added another run in the fifth. Hill began the rally with a leadoff single back through the middle. Zeller sacrificed pinch-runner Caroline Murphy (Metuchen, NJ, Metuchen) to second, and O'Brien drove her in with a base hit to left center for a 2-0 advantage.

In the seventh, Hill fanned the first two hitters before giving up back-to-back singles putting the tying runs on base. However Hill set down the next hitter to end the game, sending Montclair into the championship round.