CNBNews

MARIETTA, OHIO -- #20 Rowan scored three runs in the top of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie to go and defeat Pfeiffer, 6-3, to capture the Marietta Regional of the 2023 NCAA Tournament Sunday afternoon.

The Profs advance to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time since 2019 where the team will play at Randolph-Macon in a three-game series in Ashland, Virginia beginning on Friday.
 
REGIONAL HOMEPAGE | NCAA BRACKET

After suffering a 6-3 decision earlier in the day to Pfeiffer which forced a winner-take-all seventh game of the regional, Rowan used key hits late in the contest and rode the arm of freshman pitcher Emily McCutcheon to move on to the next round.

Payton MacNair was named the regional tournament MVP and was named to the all-tournament team along with McCutcheon, Korie Hague, Liz McCaffery, and McKenzie Melvin.

Rowan trailed 2-0 after the second but cut the score to 2-1 in the third.

With runners on first and second in the fifth, Breanna Bryant singled in Grace Shukaitis to make it a 2-2 contest. McCutcheon worked a 1-2-3 bottom half and got out of a spot in the sixth with two runners on.

MacNair started the rally in the seventh with a lead-off single followed by a base hit by Bryant. McCaffery's double down the left field line plated MacNair and gave the Profs its first lead of the game, but the squad was not done quite yet. Cat Thomas followed with a huge two-run single to add to the lead.

The bottom of the seventh saw the Falcons get a run across on a sac fly and later with the bases loaded, McCutcheon got the final out on a fielder's choice by McCaffery to MacNair at second to lock up the Profs' trip to the super regional.

MacNair, Bryant, and Abigail Pawlowski each had two hits while McCutcheon limited the Falcons to three runs (two earned) on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts to improve to 11-1 on the year.

Pfeiffer's Emma Bullin was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.