A numerical look at Rowan’s remarkable run to the NCAA Division III softball championships

Rowan has rattled off a 39-8 record this season. Now, for the second consecutive year, the Profs softball team finds itself on the precipice of winning a Division III national crown.

Rowan's softball team is headed back to the finals of the NCAA Division III championships following a comeback in its super regional.Read moreRowan Athletics

by Kerith Gabriel

Published May 29, 2024, 12:25 p.m. ET

It’s starting to become routine for the Rowan softball program.

For the second consecutive year, the Profs find themselves on the precipice of a Division III national crown, returning to the finals after a thrilling run in the super regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The winners of two double-elimination brackets will meet in a best-of-three final to determine the national champion.

Rowan has rattled off a 39-8 record ahead of its opening-round game against East Texas Baptist (39-2) at 5 p.m. Thursday in Marshall, Texas (NCAA.com). The Profs have ridden a remarkable pitching effort this season from two-way ace Emily McCutcheon (who also plays the infield) and is one of the most dominant offensive teams in Division III softball. Just how dominant? Rowan has scored 303 runs. Their opponents to date? Just 69.

Ahead of Thursday’s game against the Tigers, we look at the key statistics, records, and players who have the Profs just a few wins away from being national champions.

.404: The batting average of senior Payton MacNair. She started every game for the Profs this season and has 14 doubles and eight triples — both team highs. She has a .429 on-base percentage and leads the team with 45 RBIs.

13: The number of consecutive wins for Rowan to end the season before a 6-0 loss to Christopher Newport in the first game of its super regional.

93-9: The margin of runs in which Rowan outscored its opponents during that stretch, including a four-game sweep of Rutgers-Newark by a combined 40-4.

28: The number of years coach Kim Wilson has been with the program. She’s led the Profs to 20 NCAA Tournament appearances and nine New Jersey Athletic Conference championship crowns.

5: The number of regulars on the roster with a .300 batting average or higher. In addition to MacNair, the list includes McKenzie Melvin (.353), Cat Thomas (.338), Grace Shukaitis (.314), and junior infielder-outfielder Liz McCaffery, who has a .403 batting average and a .512 on-base percentage, the highest among players who have played in at least 75% of the games this season.

7: The number of players who have started every game for the Profs this season. If there were a dependability award, it would go to MacNair, McCaffery, Melvin, Thomas, seniors Kaitlyn Riggs and Breanna Bryant, and sophomore Abigail Pawlowski.

20: The number of innings it took Rowan to earn a 1-0 win against NJAC rival the College of New Jersey on May 6. The home game took 4 hours, 45 minutes to complete. It ended with McCaffery’s walk-off single that scored Pawlowski.

22-1: Rowan’s record at home this season, with the only loss coming against Christopher Newport in that super regional game on May 23. The Profs doubled their home record from last season’s run to the championship. They went 11-3 (42-10 overall) in 2023.

21: The number of shutouts for the Profs this season. Four of them came in doubleheader sweeps against Haverford on March 22 and Stockton on April 9. William Paterson received the worst beatdown: a 16-0 decision in a makeup game on April 7. Ouch.

1,365: The number of miles from Glassboro to Marshall, the site of the championship. Rowan is used to the trip, however, as Marshall was the site of last year’s NCAA Championship Series.