GLASSBORO, N.J. (5/3/11) – Senior Nicole Scarillo had a two-run single in the top of the seventh inning to rally the Kean University softball team to a 5-4 win over top-seeded Rowan University in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs on Tuesday afternoon.
The Cougars advance to face #4 Ramapo College, who fell 1-0 to #3 William Paterson University, on Friday, May 6, at 1 p.m., at Rowan University. The #1 Profs now face #2 Montclair State University, as the Red Hawks fell to #5 TCNJ, 1-0, in nine innings.
Trailing 4-1, the Cougars trimmed the lead to one run in the top of the fifth inning when freshman Megan Cegielski and sophomore second baseman Katie Schuh (pictured left) had back-to-back one-out singles. Freshman Sandra Binkiewicz followed with the run-scoring double to plate Cegielski and Schuh would pull the Cougars to within 4-3 when she scored on the RBI single by sophomore third baseman Courtney Melchionna.
In the top of the seventh, Schuh had a one-out single and Binkiewicz reached on an error to get the tying and go-ahead runs on base. They would move up a base on the groundout by Melchionna before Scarillo drove them both home with the single up the middle for the 5-4 lead.
Senior right-hander Courtney Smyth recorded the last three outs with a pair of fly-outs and the line-out to Melchionna at third base to win the game.
The Profs took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on the two-run homerun by centerfielder Nicolina Veneziano.
Kean cut the lead in half in the second inning when Binkiewicz led the inning off with a single and would score later in the inning on an inning-extending error.
A two-run second inning gave Rowan a 4-1 lead, as third baseman Julie Leskanic homered to left-center to also score right fielder Lauren Davis, who reached on a fielder's choice.
Smyth (6-14) went the distance for the Cougars, scattering nine hits and four earned runs.
At the plate, Schuh was 3-of-4 with two runs scored, while Cegielski, Binkiewicz, Melchionna (pictured right) and Scarillo each had two hits apiece.
For Rowan, second baseman Jenny Arcella was 3-of-3, while Veneziano and Leskanic each had one hit, two RBI and one run scored.
