How Sweep It Is
Rider stuns Niagra to take over first place

By Leo Rommel

A little pressure didn’t bother Mike Poalise. Nor did it bother the rest of the Rider Broncs, for that matter.

Acknowledging the significance of last weekend’s series against conference leader Niagara, Poalise combined for five hits, five runs and two RBIs as Rider swept favored Niagara in a critical three game series, 10-6, 5-4 and 10-6, respectively, to earn first place in the MAAC standings.

Poalise was particularly valuable in the second and third games as he singled in the game-winning run with one out remaining on one occasion, then won the following game on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. He raised his team-high batting average to .378, with 56 hits.

“Mike is what stands out in my mind as the difference-maker this past weekend,” said Head Coach Barry Davis. “Yes, it was a team effort, and his teammates did a good job at setting him up to be the hero, but the way he came through like that, under those pressures, you couldn’t ask for any more.”

Poalise was modest when asked about his heroics.

“I’m lucky to have the guys around me that I have,” said Poalise. “This weekend was personally fulfilling, sure, but without [Bryan] Wagner’s steal in the second game and [Scott] Knazek’s and [Jeff] Reynolds’ outbursts at the plate in the third game, I wouldn’t have had the chances that I had.”

Niagara, which entered the series with the best record in the conference, came to Lawrenceville expecting to dominate. But the outcome, to say the least, surprised the Purple Eagles.

“They [Rider] are a good team, but more importantly, they’re a smart team,” said Niagara Head Coach Chris Chernisky. “They took advantage of the errors that we made. That’s their strength. In a conference like this, nobody is really that much better than anybody else, but if your team has smarts, then they have a chance.”

Winners in eight of their last nine conference games, the Broncs (11-4 in the conference, 17-23 overall) have put themselves in a golden position to stage a tournament run, although Davis is quick to point out that 10 games still remain in the season and that their fragile lead over second-place Niagara (10-5) is only a single game.

“Only two games separate us from the fifth seed,” Davis said, making reference to how Manhattan, Marist and Le Moyne continue to hang back with 9-5 marks. “They are in every which way just as talented as we are, and now that we’re the team on top, our opponents know they have to be ready to play us.”

If the other teams in the MAAC want specific instructions on how to offset Rider’s flow, they need to look no further than Monmouth, whose extraordinary string of dominance over the Broncs was extended to six games, following a convincing 10-3 triumph on Wednesday that somewhat spoiled the team’s newfound sense of invincibility.

The pitching, which was vital in limiting the production of Niagara’s bats over the weekend, was lackluster against the Hawks, surrendering 14 hits, including a whopping six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Davis considers Monmouth (24-11) no more than a small bump in the road. He does, however, emphasize potential warning signs in the defeat.

“Monmouth is really no better than Niagara,” said Davis. “We were ready for Niagara but not Monmouth. We need to be ready no matter who it is. If we’re not, this feeling of greatness will not last.”

Rider’s Wednesday contest against La Salle was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. Their next series is listed for this Saturday and Sunday against MAAC challenger St. Peter’s, which ranked last with a 4-11 mark as of press time.