GLASSBORO, NJ --- No. 17 Rowan and TCNJ split a pair of extra-inning thrillers Saturday, setting up a winner-take-all Game 3 Sunday at 1 p.m. at Rowan Softball Field with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament on the line. The two programs, no strangers to postseason drama, played out their latest chapter in a series that has become defined by late-game heroics and dominant pitching — including a memorable 20-inning marathon just two years ago.
Game 1: TCNJ 3, Rowan 2 (8 innings)
Rowan struck first in the opener. Kate Evick singled home Mikayla Dansky in the bottom of the first to give the Profs a 1-0 lead, but TCNJ answered in the second on a Morgan Estelow sacrifice fly to knot the game at one.
The Profs reclaimed the lead in the fourth when pinch runner Gia DiMeglio reached second and Zara MacNair delivered a two-out RBI triple to right to make it 2-1. BethAnne Doderer — who finished with five strikeouts over seven innings — and TCNJ starter Maya Knasiak then traded zeroes through the fifth and sixth before the Lions finally broke through in the seventh.
Emily Evans led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Jessica Sclafani, who moved to second on a Grace Brouillard sacrifice bunt. With two outs and TCNJ down to its last strike, Olivia Santos sent a triple to left-center to score Sclafani and tie the game at two.
Elizabeth Gosse, who had entered in relief in the fifth, held Rowan to one hit in the seventh to send the game to extras. In the eighth, Morgan Leonhauser led off and worked a 3-1 count before depositing a home run to left field to put the Lions ahead for the first time.
Gosse retired the side in order in the bottom half to clinch the 3-2 victory. Gosse improved to 7-5 while Doderer dropped to 18-3.
Game 2: Rowan 2, TCNJ 1 (10 innings)
The rematch featured even tighter pitching and more innings, with Rowan's Emily McCutcheon and TCNJ's Knasiak — who broke TCNJ's single-season strikeout record with her 169th punchout of the year in the first inning — matching zeroes through four frames.
Rowan broke through in the fifth when Abigail Pawlowski led off with a double and came around to score on a Carly Polsky RBI single, with Lauren Foltz crossing the plate for the 1-0 lead. Gosse entered for Knasiak and limited the damage, retiring the next three batters.
TCNJ answered in the sixth. Santos singled and advanced on a Gianna Vazquez sacrifice bunt before Leonhauser — delivering for the second time on the day — lined a single up the middle to score Santos and tie the game at one.
Both offenses went quiet over the next three innings, sending the game to the 10th. Dansky reached on a bunt single, stole second, and scored on an Ava Fisher single to right to put Rowan ahead 2-1. McCutcheon then faced a two-on, two-out jam in the bottom half after an error and a single put Lions runners at second and third, but induced a groundout to third to end it.
McCutcheon was outstanding throughout, going all 10 innings and allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out a season-high nine without issuing a walk. She improved to 16-5. Gosse took the loss, falling to 6-6. Fisher, Emma Dobkin, and Polsky each had two hits for Rowan.
Game 3 is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Rowan Softball Field, with the NJAC championship and an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.