College Softball
University of Pennsylvania 9, Rider University 1
Villanova University 5, Rider University 1
Penn Spring Invitational
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.--The Rider University softball team was swept on the second day of the Penn Spring Invitational, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania this weekend.
On Saturday, the Broncs lost to the host Quakers 9-1 in the opener and to Villanova 5-1 in the nightcap.
"We are playing pretty good defensively but can't seem to get things going on the offensive end," said head coach Tricia Carroll who sees her team hitting .191 after 25 games. "A lot of the players are trying to get out of their slumps with one swing and we just need them to relax and execute."
Against Penn, Rider (7-17-1) jumped out to a 1-0 first inning lead on an RBI single up the middle by freshman Gina McCool (Marlton/Cherokee), scoring sophomore Kehli Washington (Lulea, Sweden/New Rochelle) who led off the game with an infield single.
McCool and Washington each had two of Rider's nine hits on Saturday.
Penn responded with two runs and three hits in the bottom of the first inning, taking a 2-1 lead.
The Quakers used an RBI double in the second inning to extend their lead to 3-1 and used back to back home runs as part of a four-run third inning to open up a 7-1 lead.
With two outs in the fourth inning, Penn used a two-out, two-run single for the final score.
Sophomore Krysti Maronski (Woodbury Heights/Gloucester County Inst. of Technology) started and went three innings for the Broncs, recording two strikeouts.
Rider and Penn have now split the 18 games in the all-time series. Last season, Rider won game one of a doubleheader in Philadelphia 8-3 before the Quakers rebounded for a 6-4 win. The teams last met in Lawrenceville in 2006 with the Broncs winning game one 3-2 and the Quakers winning 12-2 in the nightcap.
In the second game, Villanova broke a 0-0 tie with a solo home run in the fourth inning and used three walks and a grand slam to extend the lead to 5-0 in the sixth inning.
Freshman Allysen Breeden (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) hit an RBI ground out, scoring McCool who had singled with one out in the sixth inning for the final score.
'Nova and Rider each had seven hits.
Senior Rachael Matreale (Williamstown) took the loss, working a complete game, recording six strikeouts.
"The pitching was ok but ok isn't going to cut it against the strong competition like we've seen in this tournament," said Carroll. "Rachael was handling Villanova well until the one inning with all of the walks and they took advantage."
Rider and Villanova last met in 2010 with the Wildcats winning 6-5 in Lawrenceville. The Wildcats have now won all six games over Rider in the series history.
Weather permitting, Rider will play Army Sunday at noon in the consolation game with the championship contest between Villanova and Penn scheduled for 2:15pm.
On Friday, in the tournament opener, Rider defeated Army 2-1 in eight innings.
"I'm encouraged that the pitching and defense has been pretty good," Carroll added. "We have a few more games before conference play begins to get the offense to come around."
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