College Baseball
Appalachian State University 10, Rider University 4
Appalachian State University 22, Rider University 4
BOONE, N.C.--The Rider University baseball team was swept by Appalachian State on Saturday.
"We weren't very good," said head coach Barry Davis. "I thought that we competed a little better in the first game than the second."
In the opener, despite out-hitting the Mountaineers 14-12, the Broncs lost 10-4.
Trailing 7-1, Rider (3-4) cut the ASU (8-2) lead to three with a three-run seventh inning, including an RBI double by senior Brandon Cotten (Wiconisco, Pa./Williams Valley) and a two-run double by junior Ian Lindsay (Oaklyn/Haddon Township). Cotten had two hits and scored twice on Saturday with Lindsay going four for nine with two RBI.
After ASU got out of a no-out bases loaded jam in the eighth inning, the Mountaineers plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning for the final score.
"The first game score should have been closer," Davis said. "We had bases loaded and it was 7-4 in the eighth inning, the tying run is at first and we didn't get anything. We left 13 runners on base. All day, we would get a couple of runs and couldn't hold them off the board and put zeros up in the bottom half of the inning."
Trailing 5-0, Rider got on the board in the fifth inning when junior Adam Wayman (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial) walked with the bases loaded, scoring freshman Greg Fazio (Far Hills/Ridge) who lead off the inning with an infield single to shortstop. Wayman had two hits and three RBI in the doubleheader.
Two walks and a two-out, three-run double by Jeremy Dowdy gave ASU a 3-0 first inning lead.
The Mountaineers went ahead 4-0 on a solo home run by Dowdy to lead off the fourth inning and after a Rider error, a two-out double gave ASU a 5-0 lead on the unearned run.
Daniel Kassouf homered in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving the Mountaineers a 6-1 lead.
Senior Patrick Devlin (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock HS North) went three and two-thirds innings for the Broncs, recording one strikeout.
In the nightcap, despite the first home run in the career of freshman Mike Parsons (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool), the Broncs lost 22-4.
"The second game was a disaster," Davis said. "We walked 12 guys. We were competitive the first two games of the series (Friday and the first game today) and really never gave ourselves a chance in the game tonight. That happens in baseball but I felt that we should have competed better. If you get beat, you get beat but you just don't want to give it to them."
Wayman gave Rider a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI groundout .
ASU scored eight times on four hits, four walks and two wild pitches in the second and went ahead 13-0 with five runs on three hits and four more walks in the fourth inning.
Rider scored three times in the fifth inning on the solo home run by Parsons, a wild pitch and an RBI double by Wayman.
ASU used two runs on three hits in the sixth inning and two runs on two hits and a Rider error for the final score in the seventh.
The final game of the four-game set is Sunday.
"We need to be ready for the game on Sunday," Davis added. "Any time you take the field, you want to win. Tomorrow isn't any more important than the games today other than the fact that I want us to compete better. In that respect, it is an important game."
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