Softball: Denison stuns Rowan in NCAA opening round
| Date | May 8, 2008 |
| Location | GLASSBORO, N.J. |
The Big Red remained in the winners bracket at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships following a 10-1 win over Rowan on Thursday.
The No. 6 seeded Denison Big Red scored four runs off four hits in the fifth inning and added six more runs in the sixth en route to a 10-1 rout of host, Rowan University from the Rowan Softball Complex in Glassboro, N.J.
The victory keeps Denison in the winners bracket of the seven-team, double-eliminate east region championship. They will face Mount Union College on Friday at 2 p.m.
Rowan, who entered the game as the No. 3 seed with a 31-9 record, struck first in the bottom of the third inning, scoring one run off a Denison error.
Senior starter Bri Scrofano (Longs, S.C./McDowell) worked through the error and got Denison out of the inning without any further damages occurring. The DU bats struggled with Rowan's Jackie Sasko the first time through the order. In the fifth inning Denison would score four runs, all coming with two outs, after RBIs by Brie Berkopec (Mars, Pa./Mars), Sam Rumschlag (Carmel, Ind./Cathedral), Alex Murray (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/NDCL) and Claire Kopko (Washington, Pa./Trinity).
Denison would slam the door in the sixth inning when Rumschlag singles up the middle with the bases loaded, scoring Ali Teopas (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview), giving DU a 5-1 lead. Murray and Kopko would drive in their second runs of the game only to be capped off by Rachel Cotterman's (Lew Lexington, Ohio/Fisher Catholic) two-run single down the right field line which would give the Big Red a nine run lead, putting the run-rule into effect.
In the bottom of the sixth Scrofano struck out Jenna DiDonato with a runner on first to lock up the victory. In six innings of work, Scrofano allowed six hits and struck out two as her record improved to 16-4.
Sasko was charged with the loss for Rowan as her record dipped to 19-6. Five Denison players had multi-hit games, led by Rumschlag's 3-for-3, two RBI day at the plate.
This is Denison's fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship and their fifth NCAA Tournament victory.