GLASSBORO, N.J. (4/29/14) – The No.24 Kean University softball team, seeded fourth in the NJAC Tournament, earned a 4-2 victory over three seed Rowan University in the tournament's opening round on Tuesday. Courtney Yard pitched all seven innings and drove in the go-ahead run for the Cougars.
Megan Cegielski led off the game and her speed allowed her to beat out an infield single. With two outs, Yard was hit by a pitch to move Cegielski to scoring position. Reigning NJAC Player of the Week Kelly Moorehead came through with a clutch linedrive single over the shortstop to give Kean a 1-0 lead.
Yard ran into some trouble in the second inning. The first two runners reached base and an RBI single by Jess Phillips tied the game with one out. With two runners still on, Yard got a big strikeout for out number two and induced a ground ball to secondbaseman Emily Sabo to end the threat and keep the game tied at one.
Both pitchers were in fine form. Through the fourth inning Yard and Krysti Maronski had allowed just one run each and combined for nine strikeouts.
Jill Martin (pictured left) began the fifth inning with a leadoff walk, and with one out Sabo got her second hit of the day with a basehit single to put two on for the Cougars with the meat of the lineup due up.
Sandra Binkiewicz followed with a linedrive single off of Maronski's glove to load the bases with one out. Yard then lifted a deep flyball down the leftfield line. It was caught in foul territory but it was far enough to score Martin and give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
Yard got the Profs to go 1-2-3 in the home half of the fifth.
As the game moved to the seventh, Martin singled to center to start the frame. With two outs, Binkiewicz lined a triple that split the gap in right-centerfield and drove in Martin. In their haste to try to gun down Binkiewicz, the Profs let the ball get away from them and Binkiewicz scampered home with the team's fourth run.
Yard retired eight batters in a row stretching from the fourth inning to the seventh. But Rowan made Kean sweat it out in the final frame as they scored one and brought the game-winning run to the plate.
With two down and the tying run on first, there was a liner scalded down the rightfield line. It looked like it had a chance to drop and tie the game, but Cegielski sprinted over to make an impressive running catch to clinch the win for the Cougars.
Rowan is receiving votes in the national poll and is the de facto No. 26 team in the country.
Kean will play in the second round of the NJAC Tournament at William Paterson University. Opponent and time will be determined once all other first-round games are complete. The other two tournament games scheduled for Tuesday were rained out.
