College Softball
Rider University 9, Army (USMA) 7
Army (USMA) 9, Rider University 6
WEST POINT, N.Y.--The Rider University softball team split two non-conference games at Army Sunday afternoon.
Trailing 7-6 in the opener, Rider (6-15) rallied for three runs, all with two outs as freshman Heather Muscara (North Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham) hit a two-run single to give the Broncs an 8-7 lead and fellow rookie Sam Pugh (Elkton, Md./Elkton) followed with an RBI single for an insurance run.
"We have shown we can score in bunches," said head coach Tricia Carroll. "We've had a habit of doing some things in dramatic fashion and today was no exception. We're excited about the line up."
Muscara, Rider's leading hitter on the season with a .410 average, had five hits and four RBI in the doubleheader and is on an eight game hitting streak, batting .458 (11 for 24).
"Heather (Muscara), her composure impresses me more than the result," Carroll said. "Her winning hit came on a two strike pitch. She took a deep breath and the result was awesome. She is playing bigger than a freshman."
The Broncs took a 1-0 first inning lead on an RBI single by junior Brittany Eckett (Jackson/Jackson Memorial), one of four RBI Eckett had in the two games.
"Brittany (Eckett) works very hard at hitting," said Carroll. "She has been very patient because she hasn't seen too many good pitches to hit. With the line up around her, teams have to start pitching to her and when they do, you saw the result of that today."
Trailing 2-1, Rider tied the game in the second on an RBI single by Pugh. Pugh had two hits in game one.
Senior Ally Melia (Toms River/Toms River HS North) hit her first home run of the season and the Broncs used a Black Knight error to take a 4-2 lead in the third before Army tied the game in the bottom half of the inning and the Black Knights took a one-run lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Rider went up 6-5 in the sixth inning when junior Amanda Centeno (Ventura, Calif./Buena) doubled and Muscara followed with her second home run of the season. Centeno had three hits, including two doubles and scored three times in the opener and had four hits on the day.
Army (11-9) had three hits and took advantage of a Bronc error and wild pitch to re-take the lead, 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth.
Rider sophomore Rachael Matreale (Williamstown) worked the complete game, allowing only two earned runs and recorded two strikeouts to pick up her third win of the season.
"In both games, we made some mistakes we should not have," Carroll said. "Things like backing up plays; we gave up a few more runs than we needed to. And that needs to change. We can't give up extra outs."
The game one win was Rider's first in nine tries when trailing after six innings.
The night cap was just as wild as the opener with Army opening a 9-1 lead, only to see Rider score five unanswered runs to make it close.
Eckett gave the Broncs a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single before Army responded with four runs (on three hits) in the third and five runs (on six hits) in the fourth to open up an eight run lead.
Facing the eight-run mercy rule, Rider responded with five hits in the fifth inning, scoring three times including a two-run single by junior Jen Steward (Haddon Township). Senior Candice Harris (Henderson, Nev./Coronado) followed with her first home run of the season, making the score 9-4.
"It's nice for Candice because she doesn't have to try to do it all," Carroll said. "And Jen (Steward) has been awesome. She gets the ball in play, has speed and has hit for power."
Eckett blasted her team-leading third home run of the season, a two-run shot with one out in the seventh as Rider tried for the late comeback. Eckett had three RBI in the second game.
Junior Sam Bennett (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) pitched a complete game for the Broncs, allowing 10 hits and nine earned runs while striking out two.
Also for Rider in game two, sophomore Lucy Higgins (Westminster, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) had two hits.
Rider lost to Army at the Rebel Spring Games on March 17 by a score of 7-3. The Black Knights also defeated Rider two out of three games last season, winning at the Rebel Games 3-1 and splitting two games in Lawrenceville, winning 8-1 in the opener before the Broncs won 11-1 in the second game.
Army leads the all-time series 12-10.
Rider hosts Saint Peter's in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader on April 3 at Herb and Joan Young Field on the Lawrenceville campus.
"I'm really excited about the possibilities for us in conference play," Carroll said. "This team has shown a lot of fire and desire in addition to playing some good ball. We have some things that we need to clean up but we are just feeding off each other and our batting order is dangerous."
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