Rowan softball’s season ends with 4-2 loss to Belhaven in Division III softball championship
It's the second straight season in which the Profs have won the first game of the championship round before dropping their final two in the double-elimination bracket.
Things got off track quickly for Rowan in a win-or-go home game in the Division III softball championship on Saturday at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.
A four-run opening frame was all it took for the seventh-seeded Belhaven to eliminate the eighth-seeded Profs, 4-2.
Junior Melissa Lopera’s three-run home run followed an RBI single and put the Blazers (44-11) up early, leaving Rowan (43-11) in a hole it couldn’t come climb out of, despite its 12 hits against Belhaven’s pitchers, juniors Macy Funderburk and Karley Rouse.
“I’m just proud of the battle that we showed,” coach Kim Wilson told reporters postgame. “To come back, score a couple runs, have bases loaded, to be in a position to even stay in the game, let alone battle through at-bats, and chasing their starter out of the game, I’m really proud of what these kids did today.”
After pitching in Friday’s 10-2 run-rule loss to Redlands, senior Emily McCutcheon was back in the circle for the Profs. She tossed a complete game and allowed four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. McCutcheon’s first college win in 2023 and final loss of her senior year came against Belhaven, which hails from Jackson, Miss.
“After that first inning, I knew I had to change my mindset in some way and still stay up in the dugout and show everyone that I’m here and we’re going to fight in this game,” McCutcheon said.
» READ MORE: Pitcher Emily McCutcheon anchors Rowan softball’s Division III championship chase
Rowan cut its deficit in half in the fourth inning. Freshman Gia DiMeglio stole home to put the Profs on the board, and then an RBI single from freshman Emma Dobkin brought senior Abigail Pawloski home to give Rowan its only two runs of the game.
Senior catcher Kate Evick said McCutcheon’s ability to battle back in the final six innings kept the Profs in the game, but the struggle came offensively. Rowan left 10 runners on base on Saturday.
“Our offense behind her, we had runners on, and sometimes we executed and sometimes we didn’t,” Evick said. “And I think it worked out in the third or fourth inning when we got the two runs, but after that, it fell a bit short.”
This is the second consecutive season Rowan has won its first game of the championship round — this year it upset top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan, 3-2, on Thursday — before dropping its next two in the double-elimination bracket.
Rowan’s seniors are the first team in program history to reach the championship round all four years, and for Wilson, this class’ shoes won’t be filled, but she expects her younger players to make the seniors proud.
“The leadership they displayed, I couldn’t ask for anything more from this group,” Wilson said. “They taught them what leadership at Rowan is and what the standard is.”