College Softball - Norfolk Invitational
Rider University 7, Norfolk State University 2
Quinnipiac University 12, Rider University 5
NORFOLK, Va.--The Rider University softball team split two games on the opening day of the Norfolk Invitational Saturday afternoon in Virginia. "The energy was much better than last weekend," said head coach Tricia Carroll. "We polish up a few things and we'll be fine."
In the opener, sophomore Rachael Matreale (Williamstown) threw a complete game one-hitter, recording six strikeouts, allowing only one earned run to lead Rider (1-5) to its first win of the season.
"Rachael was really good and composed today," said Carroll. "She was confident and hit her spots. She did well."
Senior Ally Melia (Toms River/Toms River HS North) had three hits including a double and scored twice with senior Candice Harris (Henderson, Nev./Coronado) and freshman Sam Pugh (Elkton, Md./Elkton) each recording two hits. Pugh and junior Jen Steward (Haddon Township/Haddon Township) each had two RBI in the game.
"Ally had a great day," Carroll said. "She is seeing the ball well. If we can continue to get her on base, she will be dangerous and the players hitting behind her will have some fun."
Trailing 1-0, the Broncs scored four times in the third inning on three hits including a two-run single by Steward and an RBI single from Pugh to take a three-run lead.
Pugh had her second RBI single of the game as Rider extended the lead to 5-1 in the fifth, scoring junior Brittany Eckett (Jackson/Jackson Memorial) who led off with a single. Eckett scored twice in the game.
Melia had an RBI double and Harris an RBI single as the Broncs plated two runs in the sixth after Norfolk State had gotten within 5-2 in the top half of the inning.
"It was nice to push across a few more runs," Carroll said. "Especially since we had just given one back on defense. That is going to be important for us, when we get scored on, to answer right away. We didn't give Rachael any run support last weekend so it was nice to see the offense come around today for her."
In the night cap, despite two hits from junior Amanda Centeno (Ventura, Calif./Buena) and three stolen bases and two runs scored from Melia, Rider lost to Quinnipiac 12-5 as the Broncs made five errors.
"The positive about the defense was that no one hung their head after a mistake," Carroll said. "We stayed composed and shut them down. Our reaction to the mistakes was better than the first weekend. We would get it close and Quinnipiac would get a run, we would make it close again and they would score again."
The Bobcats led 6-1 before Centeno had an RBI single in the third and Quinnipiac scored once in the fourth before Rider responded with two runs on a Bobcat throwing error to make it 7-4 after four innings.
Quinnipiac put the game away with one run in the sixth and took advantage of two errors and a passed ball, all with two outs to score three in the seventh and put the game out of reach.
Junior Sam Bennett (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) took the loss, working four innings while recording two strikeouts. "We had some good at-bats, even if we didn't get a hit," Carroll added. "Everyone hustled and went deep in the count."
Rider faces Quinnipiac again and Fairleigh Dickinson in Virginia on Sunday.
"The tournament is like two doubleheaders with a dinner break and a nap in between," Carroll quipped about the 9:00am start on Sunday. "Quinnipiac is a good team and we need to tighten things up on defense against them."
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