GLASSBORO, N.J. (5/5/13) – In a fantastic finale the No. 3 Montclair State University softball team slipped past Kean University 5-4 to win the 2013 NJAC Softball Championship on Sunday. The Cougars had come back and rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie it in the sixth.
The Red Hawks opened the scoring in the third. Kean starter Courtney Yard struck out the leadoff batter but she was able to reach first when the ball hit the dirt. Jaclyn Allegretta followed with the game's first basehit. A sacrifice and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Kelly Moorehead gunned down a runner at home for the second out but a bloop double down the rightfield line by Alisha Cumberton drove in two to give Montclair a 2-0 advantage.
Red Hawk pitcher Alex Hill remained perfect as she retired the side in order in the bottom of the third. She had six strikeouts in the first three innings.
With two down in the fourth, Sandra Binkiewicz doubled to deep right-centerfield for the first Kean baserunner of the game. Courtney Yard then laced a single up the middle on the next pitch. Binkiewicz tore around third and her patented hook slide allowed her to avoid the tag and score the Cougars' first run of the day.
MSU put together a two-out rally capped by Cumberton's RBI single that made the Red Hawk lead to 3-1 in the fifth. Montclair added another run in the sixth to increase its lead to three.
In the bottom of the sixth, Megan Cegielski (pictured left) singled through the left side and Binkiewicz launched a double into the leftfield gap that drove in the runner. Yard followed with a walk to put the tying run on. With two outs, senior Courtney Melchionna blasted a clutch double that hit halfway up the fence in centerfield that tied the game at four runs apiece.
But the deadlock was short-lived. In the top of the seventh the leadoff batter reached on a borderline 3-2 pitch that was called a ball and with one out, Hill drove her in with a double that rolled to the leftfield wall.
Hill got the Cougars to go in order and the Red Hawks won their first NJAC Tournament title since 2008.
Cegielski finished the NJAC Tournament with a .526 average and Melchionna batted .429 in the five games. Yard threw every pitch for the Cougars and racked up 26 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched. Her ERA was an even 2.00.
Kean is still eligible for an at-large bid and will await its NCAA Tournament fate to be announced at the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at 10 a.m. The Selection Show will be viewable on NCAA.com.
