Glassboro, NJ — The State University of New York at New Paltz was building for five seasons to get a chance to fight for a national title and on Thursday, the journey begins.
 
After clinching their first ever SUNYAC title this past weekend, the Hawks (35-6 overall, 17-1 SUNYAC) earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and first ever appearance in national competition.
 
Coach Krysti Maronski has led the team to back-to-back historic seasons with her 2024 squad pushing the bar further as they achieved the most overall wins and conference wins in program history while securing their second-straight regular season league title, achieving a program record 19-game winning streak through the run.
 
After beating Cortland in what essentially was a best-of-three series to capture the program crown, the team awaited the selection show Monday ready to see who they need to go through to keep their run going. Fittingly, SUNY New Paltz was placed in hosting Rowan University's regional — bringing Maronski back home where she helped lead the Profs to three straight NCAA appearances, including a Super Regional and an NJAC title as a player, along with an NCAA Finals appearance as an assistant coach in 2015 and two NJAC titles in 2016 and 2018.
 
The Hawks are joined by MIT and Centenary with the team facing the Engineers in their opening game Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
 
MIT earned an automatic bid after earning a NEWMAC title for the second straight year, defeating Babson in the championship on Saturday. At 28-12, the Engineers ranked second in Region II in the latest NCAA Division III poll.

 
 
As a team, MIT batted .426 on the season, driving in 205 runs and averaging nearly six runs per game. It is led offensively by junior Mikayla Cable who was a First-Team NEWMAC selection after pacing the Engineers with 36 runs, hitting .403 with an OPS of 1.035 and slugging percentage of .590. She is joined by senior Katia Pendowski who was a second team selection after recording 27 hits, including nine extra base hits while totaling 39 RBI and 19 runs.
 
The Engineers' top arm is sophomore Caroline Langmeyer. A first team pick last season, the Ohio native was a second team All-NEWMAC selection and was named NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player after going 4-0, tossing all 29 innings, allowing just 21 hits and four runs with 18 strikeouts. She enters the NCAA Tournament 19-4 overall with an ERA of 1.62 with 146 strikeouts in 147 innings pitched.
 
The early matchup will see hosting and No. 13 nationally ranked Rowan face the Cyclones at 12 p.m. on Rowan Softball Field. The Profs won their 12th NJAC title and second in three years after earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight season.  
Rowan enters the tournament at 34-7 overall with a 16-2 NJAC record, enjoying a 10-game winning streak after winning all three games of its conference tournament where it didn't give up a single run. The Profs rank No. 15 in the latest NFCA poll, while landing first in Region IV.
 
Rowan's ace is sophomore Emily McCutheon who is one of the best in the country and was named a First-Team All-NJAC selection after going 18-1 in the regular season in 120 innings pitched with a 1.11 ERA and 85 strikeouts. Since then, she lowered her ERA to 0.94 with 14 complete games. More recently, McCutheon made national headlines after tossing a NCAA DIII record 20 innings in a 1-0 shutout, giving up just 11 hits with six strikeouts and five walks on 230 pitches in the remarkable outing.
 
Offensively, Rowan is led by junior Liz McCaffrey, senior Payton MacNair and senior Cat Thomas, all first team all-conference picks this spring after starting all 41 games for the Profs. McCaffrey leads the team with a .418 batting average in 122 at-bats, while adding 35 runs, 51 hits and 26 RBI. MacNair paces her team in hits with 55, while bating .404 on the year with 37 runs and 40 RBI with a team-leading 21 extra-base hits. Thomas has registered a team-high 43 RBI, while batting .347 with 26 runs, 42 hits and a team-high three homers.
 
Centenary, meanwhile, also earned an automatic bid to the national tournament after winning its very first Atlantic East Conference Tournament. It enters the tournament at 29-14 overall, going 10-2 in conference play during the regular season.
 
The Cyclones are highlighted by Atlantic East Conference Pitcher of the Year Jaelynn Miller who topped the league in ERA (1.71), adding 160 strikeouts during the regular season in 172.1 innings pitched. Overall, in 32 appearances Miller tallied an ERA of 2.19 with a record of 23-4, pitching 18 complete games with two saves. Miller also is the team's best hitter, leading Centennial in virtually every offensive statistical category including batting average (.368), OPS (1.023), at-bats (136), hits (5), doubles (16), home runs (5), RBI (35), total bases (35), slugging percentage (.610) and on-base percentage (.413). Senior Jessica Burlew follows offensively, as she paces the team in runs with 31, while hitting .344 with 45 hits and seven RBI.
 
Each team is scheduled to play once Thursday with all four teams returning Friday. The winners of both matchups will play Friday at 11 a.m. with the losers competing in an elimination game at 1:30 p.m. with another potential elimination game scheduled at 4 p.m.
 
To view the full tournament schedule, click here.


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