College Baseball
Saint Joseph's University 8, Rider University 1
NORRISTOWN, PA?In baseball, L.O.B. stands for runners Left On Base. In the case of the Rider University baseball team, it could very well stand for Lost Out Broncs.
Rider (24-21) left 13 runners on base as the Broncs lost at Saint Joseph's Tuesday at Latshaw-McCarthy Field in Elmwood Park, as they lost out on several opportunities. “We had opportunities to score and we didn't,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis.
Rider has now lost five in a row and has left 48 runners on base in those five games. “This is the worst we've been through this year, for an extended period, but it is not like we're not hitting the ball,” Davis said. “I think it is just a matter of staying with it, staying focused in what we're trying to do.”
Rider compiled 11 hits from eight different players. St. Joe had 14 hits. “They bunched their hits, and we scattered ours,” Davis said. “Other teams do it and right now we're not doing it.”
The Hawks (16-29) scored two runs in the third inning on four hits for all the offense they needed.
In the top of the fourth inning junior Maurice Williams (Ocean, N.J./Monmouth Regional) led off with a single, freshman John Ralston (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) followed with a single and moved up to second on a wild pitch. “I don't know if it was a turning point, but we had runners on second and third with nobody out, a chance to come right back and tie the game, and we don't score anything,” Davis said. “You gotta score there.”
Rider scored just one run in the sixth inning on a mishandled relay. “The only run we scored was when we took advantage of a cut off miscue,” Davis said.
Williams, junior Sean Olson (Vineland, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) and freshman Steve Galella (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial) each had two hits for Rider. Senior David Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./American Heritage) added a double. “We just have to keep swinging and hopefully we'll swing out of it. Baseball is funny that way.”
Junior James Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./Piper) stole two more bases and now has 33 steals on the season. The Rider record for stolen bases in a season is 40, set in 1967.
The Broncs defeated St. Joe's 8-5 in Lawrenceville on March 26.
Junior Derek Caldwell (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) started and allowed five earned runs in five and two-thirds innings, striking out four. “I thought Caldwell threw okay,” Davis said, “but when you are scoring one run, you can't make a mistake or walk anyone.”
The Broncs were without the services of two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week, freshman Mason Heyne (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock), who sprained his ankle on Sunday. Heyne is batting .344 with a slugging percentage of .529. “The guys who are on the bench and don't play as much, have to step up,” Davis said. “They have to be prepared.”
Rider hosts Lafayette Wednesday and travels to Le Moyne for a three-game non-conference series this weekend. The final home game of the season is May 13 against La Salle, and the regular season closes with a three-game MAAC series at Saint Peter's May 16-17. “We have to find a way to get it done,” Davis said.
Getting it done means not leaving runners on base.
Rider hosts the four-team MAAC Championship tournament May 22-24 at Waterfront Park. Rider is currently in fourth place (12-9) in the MAAC.
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