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Postgame Interview 

UNION, N.J. – Second-seeded William Paterson (30-13-1) rallied with a three-run seventh inning to tie the score, but a pair of singles in the bottom of the ninth allowed top-seeded Kean (28-12-1) to come away with a 7-6 victory in the 2015 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament Union (N.J.) Regional championship game May 10.
 
Coming off an opening 2-0 win against the Cougars to force a deciding second game, the Pioneers took advantage of a two-out double in the left-center gap by sophomore designated player Meghin Stanton (Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington Regional) and an RBI-single to center from sophomore shortstop Rachel Wasilak (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) to seize a 1-0 lead during the top of the first inning.
 
Kean freshman catcher Katie Garbarino knotted the score at 1-1 with her second-inning solo homer to left.
 
WP threatened in the third. Senior center fielder Kelsey Principe (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany) hit a one-out single up the middle and Stanton sent a hard grounder through the left side of the infield for a base hit. Wasilak then drilled a shot off the fence in the left-center gap, but the runners had to hold in case it was caught, and the play resulted in a long single to load the bases. Cougar senior Courtney Yard got out of the inning thanks to a fielder's choice play to the plate and a lineout back to the rubber, keeping it a 1-1 game.
 
Junior left fielder Kelsey Wimmershoff (Park Ridge, N.J./Park Ridge) denied Kean the go-ahead run in the bottom of the third when, with two outs and a runner on second, sophomore second baseman Emily Sabo connected for a hard-hit ball into left. Wimmershoff fielded it on one hop and threw a bullet to the plate that was caught off the bounce by sophomore catcher Kim Fryer (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg South), and she applied the tag in time to end the inning.
 
William Paterson rode that momentum into its next at-bat, scoring twice in the top of the fourth. Kim Fryer led off with a base hit up the middle and was sacrificed to second by freshman second baseman Kaitlyn Poretti (Florence, N.J./Florence Memorial). Sophomore pitcher Allison Podmajersky (Red Bank, N.J./Middletown South) broke the deadlock with a double down the line and past the left fielder, plating Kim Fryer. Podmajersky was replaced by pinch runner Zigmary Colon (Paterson, N.J./Passaic County Tech), and she promptly scored thanks to sophomore right fielder Nicole Fryer's (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg South) RBI-single up the middle, making it a 3-1 Pioneer advantage.
 
Kean surged ahead with a five-run fifth inning. An error put the leadoff runner aboard, and sophomore third baseman Amanda Berezny doubled her in, followed by a popped up bunt for the first out of the inning. Junior right fielder Tonianne DeMatteo singled in Berezny to tie the score, and an infield single by Yard led to a two-run triple by Sabo. Sophomore center fielder Emily Bissonnette added an RBI-single to short, and the Cougars owned a 6-3 lead.
 
Down to its final three outs, WP got a leadoff walk from sophomore Gabrielle Castelli (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove), and another base on balls with one out issued to Principe. A third walk, this one by Stanton, loaded the bases for Wasilak, whose single through the right side plated two runs. Freshman Sam Rothenberger (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) then delivered a pinch-hit single to drive in Stanton and tie the score. The Pioneers had runners on second and third with one out, but could not muster the go-ahead run as Yard got out of the inning with a pair of groundouts.
 
A walk and a base hit with one out gave Kean a chance during the home half of the seventh, but Stanton entered the circle and got a ground ball that senior third baseman Lachelle Rouse (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook Senior) fielded, stepped on the bag at third and threw to first for the inning-ending double play.
 
A leadoff single by the Cougars during the home half of the eighth led to a sacrifice attempt, but Stanton fielded the bunt and got the lead runner at second base. A groundout and strikeout kept the score tied at 6-6.
 
Principe hit a ball down the right-field line to open the top of the ninth inning, but DeMatteo was able to cut it off and turn a sure extra-base hit into a single. Rouse later hit a two-out single down the right-field line, but Yard was able to end the threat with a strikeout.
 
A popup and lineout started the bottom of the ninth before Sabo got aboard with a single. Bissonnette followed with a liner that dropped near the right-field line, jumped off the turf and spun away into foul territory, and Sabo came all the way around from first base to score the game-winning run.
 
Wasilak was 3-for-5 with three RBI, and Stanton went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Principe finished 2-for-4 and crossed the plate once.
 
Podmajersky tossed the first 4.1 innings and was responsible for five runs (four earned) and five hits with a walk and a strikeout. Castelli gave up one run and four hits in 2.0 innings, posting two strikeouts and a walk, while Stanton (3-1) allowed a run and three hits during the final 2.1 innings while registering a strikeout.
 
Three Pioneers were named to the All-Regional Team. Podmajersky was 2-1 with a 1.94 ERA in four starts and five appearances, striking out 10 and walking one in 21.2 innings. She tossed 15 consecutive shutout innings at one point and hit .375 in eight at-bats. Nicole Fryer hit .444 (8-18) over the five games with a double, two RBI and six runs scored, and Kim Fryer batted .385 (5-13) while posting a double, three RBI and two runs scored.
 
Sabo led Kean at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Yard (22-8) pitched all 9.0 innings, giving up six runs and 13 hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
 
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