College Baseball
Seton Hall University 4, Rider University 3
SOUTH ORANGE-The Broncs lost at Seton Hall Tuesday.
The host Pirates (11-10) scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs on a wild pitch. "That's a tough way to lose,"' said Rider head coach Barry Davis.
Rider (13-9) tied the score at 3-3 with three runs in the fifth inning on four hits, including RBI singles by senior A.J. Albee (Ashley, Pa./Hanover Area) and senior Steve Galella (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial).
"We had a little bit of a run in the one inning," Davis said, 'but we didn't do enough offensively today. We didn't get the clutch hits we needed."
Albee and Galella each had two of Rider's 10 hits. "We had some chances but never capitalized on them," Davis said. "We left to many opportunities on the field."
Freshman Nick Crescenzo (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton) and sophomore Ian Lindsay (Oaklyn/Haddon Twp.) also had two hits each for Rider. Lindsay also had an RBI while Crescenzo extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Rider sophomore Joe Calogero (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill HS West) pitched seven innings, allowing just two earned runs without issuing a walk, striking out four. "Joe threw a good game," Davis said. "He kept us in the ball game and we played pretty good defense behind him."
Rider sophomore closer Tyler Smith (Westmont/Haddon Twp.) entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning and got Rider out of the jam with a ground out. In the ninth inning and a runner on third Smith got a big strike out before the wild pitch.
Rider defeated Seton Hall 8-7 last year in Lawrenceville and won 8-2 in South Orange in 2009. The last time the Pirates beat Rider was during the 2008 season. Rider and Seton Hall have now met 60 times since the series began in 1947, with Rider winning 22.
The Broncs will host Iona in a three-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference series this weekend, beginning with a 12 noon doubleheader on Saturday. "We need to come this weekend with more intensity than we had today," Davis said. "We need to be better, to be ready, to be more focused."
Rider is the defending MAAC Champion and began 2011 3-0 in conference play.
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