Glassboro, NJ – The Montclair State softball team came within an out of capturing the opener, however Rowan University rallied for four runs for a 9-8 victory and used that momentum for an 11-0 win in the nightcap as the Profs swept their NJAC doubleheader with the Red Hawks on Saturday.
Jess DeDomenico drove in the game-winning run of the first contest with a double and added two RBI in the second game as the Profs (28-10, 14-4 NJAC) clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
BLAKE SAPERSTEIN,
VALENTINA CUCCI and
ELENA RADESICH each drove in two runs for the Red Hawks (28-12, 9-9 NJAC), who finished in fifth place and the No. 5 seed in the NJAC Tournament. Montclair will head back to Rowan on Tuesday, April 30 for the opening round of the tournament at 4pm.
Montclair snapped a scoreless game one with four runs in the second inning. Samantha DiClementi scored on a passed ball for the first run and
AMBER POWERS smacked an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. Three batters later, Saperstein ripped a two-run double for a 4-0 lead. Rowan climbed back into the game with a run in the second and two more in the third trimming its deficit to a run.
Cucci collected an RBI single in the fourth with Radeisch plating another on a fielder's choice pushing the MSU lead back to 6-3. After the Profs got a run in the fifth, Montclair went in front 8-5 in the sixth on RBIs by Cucci and Radesich.
Rowan scored once in the sixth and then put together its winning rally with two outs. Two singles loaded the bases for Carly Anderson, who tied the game with a three-run double. DeDomenico followed with a double to right scoring Anderson with the game-winning run.
Alexa Saccomanno (2-0) picked up the win in relief while MSU's
NICOLE MAJEWSKI (9-4) took the loss. Cucci had two hits for the Red Hawks.
The Profs would do all their damage in Game 2 in the first two innings. DeDomenico had an RBI triple to highlight a four-run first inning. She would also drive home the first run in the second inning when Rowan scored seven times for its 11-0 lead.
Lauren Shannon (10-5) was the beneficiary of the offensive support and made it stand as she surrendered four hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
KIARA RUIZ (7-4) took the loss for Montclair State.