Hanging in There
Broncs in a three-way tie for second in MAAC

By Charles Guthrie

Things could be a lot better for the Rider baseball team. Then again, they could be a lot worse.

In spite of a 7-14 overall record, a commendable 4-2 conference mark has the Broncs in a three-way tie for third place in the MAAC standings with Fairfield (6-12 overall) and Le Moyne (9-15 overall). This comes in spite of the fact that Rider recently dropped two out of three against Le Moyne two weekends ago.

In that series, Rider lost the first game, 6-4, in 10 innings, then split a doubleheader the following day, losing the first game, 5-2, and then winning the second, 7-4.

“We’re lucky to salvage a win over the preseason favorites when we make 13 errors,” Head Coach Barry Davis told Rider Sports Information. “Le Moyne is a good team. They are going to sweep some teams this year, so I’m glad we did get the one win.”

Rider rebounded nicely the following week by sweeping Saint Peter’s (13-14 overall, 3-3 MAAC) in a three-game set on the road. In the first game of a doubleheader on March 31, the Broncs, down 5-4, rallied by scoring three runs in the seventh inning when junior first baseman David Hayes (MAAC Player of the Week for March 26-April 1) hit a go-ahead two-run double, and junior centerfielder Jon Leise had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. With Rider winning, 7-6, freshman pitcher Kris Brown picked up the win in relief.

The Broncs won the second game, 8-5, with a dominant performance by sophomore pitcher Jim Kennedy, who struck out nine and allowed only three hits in five and two-thirds innings. The Broncs had six players who collected multiple hits including sophomore infielders Adam Tussey and James Hayes, who went a combined six for nine with four RBIs and three runs.

Rider completed the series by winning the finale, 5-4, in compelling fashion when James Hayes broke a 4-4 tie in the ninth with an RBI single scoring freshman Garrett Rugg. Hayes would close out the game in the bottom half of the inning, picking up his sixth save. Senior pitcher Erick Holck up the win in relief, recording five strikeouts in two and a third innings.

On Tuesday, Rider played a road game against non-conference rival Seton Hall (9-14 overall) in a match that went down to the wire. The Broncs broke a scoreless tie in the top of the eighth when freshman catcher Eric Woodrow scored on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the ninth, Seton Hall sophomore outfielder Matt Smedberg hit a two-out RBI single to send the game to extra innings. However, the Pirates stole the win when sophomore Tim McCann hit a clutch two-out RBI single in the 11th.

Regardless of the loss, the Broncs were given a tremendous effort on the mound by sophomore Dan Sasso, who pitched his best game of the year, going seven and two-thirds scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

“I was able to throw a lot of off-speed pitches to keep them off-balance,” Sasso said. “It was our tremendous defense that allowed me to be successful.”

Rider picked up an additional win on March 28 when Woodrow, trailing 5-4 in the ninth to St. Joseph’s (4-20 overall), hit a go-ahead single, scoring two runners, to pull out the win, 6-5.

“I’m glad I had the opportunity as a freshman,” Woodrow said. “To come through for my team in a big spot.”

Rider was supposed to play a make-up game against Delaware on Wednesday (the original date was March 4, but was canceled because of snow), but the game was rained out and will not be made up.

The Broncs will be on the road against Marist (5-16 overall, 2-4 MAAC) this weekend in a three-game series starting Saturday. Marist won the MAAC championship two years ago and finished fifth last season with a 16-10 conference record.