College Baseball
Manhattan College 20, Rider University 3
Rider University 4, Manhattan College 1
LAWRENCEVILLE?The Broncs split a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader with Manhattan Friday. “Being able to come back from the first game was important,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis. “I thought we responded well.”
In the second game, sophomore Nick Wojnowski (Baldwin, Md./Calvert Hall) hit a two-run double in the third inning to give Rider (8-7, 1-1 MAAC) a 4-0 lead.
Junior Jimmer Kennedy (Levittown, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) pitched six and one-third innings, striking out four for the victory, his second of the season. “Kennedy was pretty much on top of it for six innings,” Davis said.
“I felt pretty good today,” said Kennedy, who improves his career record at Rider to 12-11. “After the way the first game went, it gave me a little extra incentive to come back and play hard. It also gave me a bit more confidence because I knew our guys were not going to take that first game well and would be determined to play hard the second game.”
Junior James Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./Piper) led off the first inning with a double, was sacrificed to third and scored on a balk.
In the seventh inning Manhattan got its first two batters on base and scored its lone run on a sacrifice fly. “You have to play the whole game,” Davis said. “Teams at this level are not going to quit. Manhattan is a good team.”
Hayes moved from second base to the mound and recorded the final two outs of the game for his third save of the season and the 18th of his career. “Jamie came in and got us the outs we needed,” Davis said. “That is what his job is and he did a good job of it today.”
The Broncs took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when freshman John Ralston (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) and sophomore Eric Woodrow (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West) both singled and Ralston scored on a ground out. Woodrow had two of Rider's six hits.
In the first game, Manhattan (5-10-1, 1-1 MAAC) compiled 15 hits off of five Rider pitchers, and scored 11 runs in the ninth inning to blow the game open. “Whether you lose 20-3 or 4-3, it is still a loss, they both count the same,” Davis said.
Junior Mike Petrowski (Hamilton Square, N.J./Steinert) started the first game and allowed eight runs on 11 hits in six and one-third innings pitched. “I don't think Mike pitched badly, certainly not as bad as the score would indicate,” Davis said. “In the first inning they got a couple of flare hits that dropped in. I think Mike only had one bad inning. We didn't do much to help him.”
Freshman Mason Heyne (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) had three of Rider's 10 hits, including an RBI single in the eighth inning to cut the lead to 9-3. “Mason had a good day today,” Davis said. “We told him ?even if you are a freshman you are asked to come out and perform and we expect you to do the things it takes to be a good player.' He's come along and had a decent day today. He had some good swings and made some nice plays at third.”
“I thought we played well as a team,” Heyne said after his first games on the Rider home field. “I was looking fastball pretty much and that is what they kept giving me. Being the fourth hitter I was surprised at all of the fastballs I was getting, but I have no complaints.”
Rider scored two runs in the second inning when Heyne doubled, scored on a single by junior Maurice Williams (Ocean, N.J./Monmouth Regional), and sophomore Matt McCollum (Tabernacle, N.J./Shawnee) doubled and scored on a single by senior David Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./American Heritage) to cut the lead to 3-2. McCollum and Williams each had two hits. Williams became the 65th member of the Rider 100-hit club with his second hit of the first game.
The third game of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 1pm at Rider's Sonny Pittaro Field. “We're going to need tomorrow the same kind of effort we showed in the second game today,” Davis said.
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