After a cold and windy weekend, Rowan softball finally got to play in spring weather with it being sunny and warm on Tuesday, the same day they played host to the Stockton Ospreys in a doubleheader. Despite the variety in temperature, Rowan continued to stay hot, sweeping Stockton and improving their winning streak to 17 games.
The first was one of the most tense games of the season for the Profs. It was a battle of the aces between Rylee Lutz for Rowan and Nerina Tramp for the Ospreys.
Rowan saw Tramp last year and scored three runs against her, but today they did not have such luck. Both pitchers were able to hold the offenses scoreless until the seventh inning.
At the start of the seventh, New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Player of the Week Kaitlyn Riggs was able to work a walk. This then brought up Grace Shukaitis, who did not have a hit yet in this game. She came up to this at-bat with a different mindset.
“It was a little different,” Shukaitis said. “I do not know why, but today the nerves were hitting me a little differently. Coach talked to me and got me to calm down, told me I know how to hit. It gives me confidence.”
This newly found confidence helped Shukaitis get a hit into left-center field to put runners on first and second. Abigail Pawlowski was the next batter, and she laid down a bunt and beat out the throw to load the bases for Breanna Bryant. Bryant switched her approach this at bat knowing the type of pitcher Tramp was.
“I knew she was a pretty good pitcher,” Bryant said. “We faced her last year and we had competitive games against them. I was just trying not to swing at her up [the] pitch, she had gotten me out on a pop-up last time on that pitch. I was waiting for the ball belt high so we could score.”
Bryant did eventually get that pitch belt high and was able to hit toward the shortstop, which was far enough for the game-winning run to cross the plate.
“We were just trying to do the little things,” head coach Kim Wilson said. “I thought we battled the entire game, we got a couple of nice hits. Then a ball between a 5-6 hole to end the game.”
Coming into the second game, it was more of the same for Rowan on the pitching side of things, with Emily McCutcheon continuing to thrive and pitching a complete game shutout, just like Lutz.
While the pitching remained the same, the offense was able to score more throughout the second game. It started with Shukaitis, who was able to take advantage early.
With Cat Thomas and Zara MacNair on second and third respectively in the first inning, Shukaitis was able to score both runners with a double to left center. In between games, Shukaitis had a former teammate and her dad put things into perspective for her.
“I talked to Morgan Zayn, she used to play here and her dad’s here,” Shukaitis said. “He reassured me and told me that it was just a game. One day it’s gonna end, so do the best you can while you can, so that is sort of the mindset.”
The Ospreys did not have a pitcher of the caliber of Tramp for the second game. To offset this, Stockton tried to switch pitchers often so Rowan had to keep adjusting to each reliever.
“It was hard at the beginning because they were changing their pitchers every inning,” Bryant said. “It was a smart tactic.”
It did not matter though, as the Profs were able to put up eight runs to run-rule Stockton in the fifth inning.
“They were not effective up,” Bryant said. “So we knew that when it was belt high we had to attack it right away cause we can score runs fast.”
The last time Rowan lost a game was on March 12. One of the keys to this winning streak is the dominance of Lutz and McCutcheon, which was once again true in these games.
“Rylee and Emily both did so well,” Bryant said. “They are some of the best in the conference. I am just glad they are on our team so we do not have to go against them.”
With the six, seven, eight, and nine hitters securing the win in game one, it shows how deep this team is, which is another big part of the win streak.
“We are playing together as a team,” Wilson said. “We are doing a really good job of getting many different contributions.”
After the first game, Kim Wilson reached 900 wins in her Rowan coaching career and is now at 965 overall, just 35 away from 1,000.
“I think it was so cool,” Bryant said. “It is so cool to get all the milestones that just add to our legacy.”
This game also had significance for both teams as it was the “Strike Out Cancer” game, in memory of Stephanie Allocco.
Allocco is a former Rowan softball player who was a four-time All-American and former coach at Stockton, who passed away from breast cancer in 2021. All of the players were wearing pink, raising awareness about breast cancer.
“It is so nice that we can come together and celebrate her legacy and raise awareness about cancer,” Bryant said.
It meant a lot to Shukaitis, not only because of the memory of Allocco, but because it had a personal meaning to her as well.
“It is significant for me because my mom had breast cancer when I was 12 years old,” Shukaitis said. “It hits close to home. I love these types of games because they bring awareness, to have passed away and those who beat them. I try to wear as much pink as I can.”
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