College Softball
Columbia University 9, Rider University 1 / 6 innings
Columbia University 10, Rider University 1 / 6 innings
LAWRENCEVILLE--The Rider University softball team lost a non-conference doubleheader to Columbia on Thursday afternoon at Herb and Joan Young Field.
"This was frustrating," said head coach Tricia Carroll. "We are not executing and we are missing signs. Columbia did a good job of putting runners in motion and stealing bases. We are playing tentative and not making adjustments."
For Rider (6-27) in the opener, senior Jen Steward (Haddon Township) and junior Samantha Mayer (Neptune) each had two of the five Bronc hits in the 9-1 loss.
"Jen has done a good job trying to set the table for the other hitters," Carroll said.
Trailing 3-0, Rider scored its only run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by senior Amanda Centeno (Ventura, Calif./Buena), scoring Steward who had led off with a single to right field.
Columbia added a single run in the fourth inning and put the game away with five runs in the sixth inning.
Junior Rachael Matreale (Williamstown) recorded nine strikeouts but allowed five walks in her six innings of work.
In the nightcap, Columbia (13-24) used five hits and two Rider errors to plate seven runs in the third inning.
"We can't afford to give teams four and five outs," Carroll said about the third inning. "We also did not capitalize when we had runners in scoring position."
Rider took advantage of two Columbia errors with Steward scoring to make it a 7-1 game in the bottom of the third inning. Steward had two of Rider's six hits in game two.
Senior Sam Bennett (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) went the first three innings for the Broncs, allowing only two earned runs with junior Kelsey Krisch (Parker, Colo./Council Rock HS North) working the final three innings, recording three strikeouts and allowing two earned runs.
Rider hosts Fairfield in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday at 1pm.
"Columbia was a good setup for this weekend against Fairfield," Carroll said. "Fairfield likes to steal and hit and run."
Columbia has won 16 of the 28 games all-time in the series that started in 2001. Rider and Columbia met four times last season, twice in Florida with the Broncs winning both (2-1 and 7-0) and twice in New York with Rider winning the opener 4-3 and the Lions taking game two 7-1. Columbia won two of three from Rider in 2009.
Rider has lost nine straight.
"We know we need to win eight MAAC games in a row to have any chance of making the playoffs," Carroll added. "Today's effort was not how we wanted to go into two conference games. The energy needs to be a lot better and that is something that we can control. If you are playing hard and thinking the right things, you will be able to make plays. We need to play better on instincts. We need to think the game better to play the game better."
The doubleheader saw over 400 in attendance as Rider celebrated Code Cranberry.
Code Cranberry is an initiative designed to express a unified show of support among varsity athletes at Rider University.
There is a slogan among Rider athletes, that there are 355 athletes, 20 sports but 1 team. Rider SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Council), SAM (Student-Athlete Mentors) and members of the Captains' Leadership Seminar took that slogan and expanded it to create Code Cranberry.
On designated Code Cranberry dates, all varsity student-athletes are asked to come out to the contest, wearing their Code Cranberry tee shirt, and cheer on their fellow student-athletes in an effort to show that while they compete in different sports, they are all part of one team, and that team is Rider Athletics.
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