Box Score 

GLASSBORO, N.J. – For the second straight day, No. 22 William Paterson (32-7, 13-5 NJAC) fought back from an early deficit to earn a victory in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Softball Tournament, this time climbing out of a 6-3 hole to defeat No. 15 Rowan (32-10, 15-3 NJAC), 7-6, May 2 at Rowan University.

The second-seeded Pioneers are now a perfect 3-0 during the double-elimination NJAC Tournament, and will play sixth-seeded Montclair State at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, and again at 2:30 p.m. if necessary, to decide the tournament champion. The winner of the NJAC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Pioneers owned a 3-0 lead after scoring twice in the top of the first and once more in the third. NJAC Player of the Year Meghan Reilly (Middlessex, N.J./Middlesex) started the game by drawing a walk from NJAC Pitcher of the Year Jackie Sasko, and ran to second on a wild pitch before being sacrificed to third by junior Christina Zippler (Blackwood, N.J./Washington Twp.). Sophomore Lindsey Nadolny (Belford, N.J./Middletown North) belted a double to left-center to score Reilly, and classmate Jenna Vitale (Kenilworth, N.J./David Brearley) immediately followed with a RBI-double of her own, handing the Pioneers a 2-0 advantage. Zippler then led off the top of third with a triple to right, and Nadolny rocketed a ball down the line that hit the Prof first baseman on the short hop and rolled into foul territory, plating Zippler for a 3-0 edge.

Vitale cruised through the first two innings inside the circle, but ran into trouble during the bottom of the third. A leadoff walk was followed by a strikeout and then two sacrifice bunts attempts that the Pioneer defense could not convert into outs, resulting in two singles and a bases-loaded situation for Rowan. Vitale put Jenna DiDonato into the book with a strikeout for the second out of the inning, but the Profs then started finding the outfield gaps, hitting three straight doubles and a single to push six runners across home plate and build a 6-3 lead.

The Pioneers had a runner on third with zero outs to start both the fourth and fifth innings but could not cash in. The top of the sixth, however, was a different story, as William Paterson used four hits, an intentional walk, a fielder's choice and a hit by pitch to surge ahead, 7-6. Sophomore Ashlie Gaynor (Berlin, N.J./Eastern) smacked a leadoff double right center and was lifted for pinch runner Kerrie Mascarelli (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills). Junior Lacey Santone (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) singled up the middle and ran to second on the throw, scoring Mascarelli from second, before a groundout gave WP a runner on second with one out. Reilly lined a single off the glove of the Rowan second baseman, advancing Santone to third, before a Zippler base hit back up the middle sent the Pioneer shortstop home and cut the Rowan lead to one. Nadolny was intentionally walked to load the bases for freshman reliever Michele Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne), whose fifth-inning strikeout was her second at-bat of the season. Despite the lack of experience, Graham came through with a grounder that the third baseman threw to the plate , but Reilly beat it out and tied the score. Sasko struck out the next batter, but pinch hitter Linda Hahn (Sewell, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) had a Sasko offering hit her left arm, forcing across Zippler and giving William Paterson the 7-6 advantage.

Graham sat down the Profs in order during both the sixth and seventh innings to preserve the win. She improved to 14-4 with 4.1 innings of shutout ball, scattering two hits and striking out three Profs.

Nadolny continued her hot hitting by going 3-for-3 at the plate, hitting a double, driving in two runs and scoring once herself. Zippler went 2-for-4 with a RBI and two runs scored, and Santone added a 2-for-4 effort.

Sasko (19-5) gave up seven runs on 12 hits for Rowan. Julie Leskanic was the only Prof to have a multi-hit day, going 2-for-3 with a double. Ashley Minch drove in three runs with her third-inning double. 

The comeback was nothing new for the Pioneers, who rallied from a 5-0 second-inning deficit against The College of New Jersey on May 1 to earn a 14-6, five-inning victory.