College Baseball
Rider University 6, Siena College 4
LOUDONVILLE, NY—The Broncs won a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Siena Sunday. “We grinded it out,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis. “It was a cardiac type of game at the end. Siena is a good ball team.”
With the victory Rider (26-16, 11-4 MAAC) wins its fifth MAAC series of the season and regains sole possession of first place. “It's great to win another series,” Davis said. “Now we know if we play our game in the final three series we'll be all right. It is all up to us now.”
It marked the third MAAC series in a row that Rider lost the first game and came back to win the second and third. “That's a good sign,” Davis said. “Sometimes when you get into a tournament and lose the first you have to grind it out. It is nice to know if we have to do that we are capable.”
Rider has now won 13 of its last 17 games.
Sophomore Kurt Sowa (Bensalem, PA/Fr. Judge) pitched seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and left the game with a 6-3 lead.
Sowa (8-1) ranks among the top 25 pitchers in the nation in victories and has a 3.14 earned run average. Opponents are batting just .204 against Sowa.
A two-run, two-out double by sophomore Mike Parsons (Liverpool, NY) and a two-run home run by senior Ian Lindsay (Oaklyn/Haddon Twp.) in the second inning gave Rider a 5-3 lead.
It was the second home run of the year and the fifth of Lindsay's career. “Lindsay made a great catch on a sinking line drive to end the game,” Davis said.
A two-out, RBI single by sophomore Justin Thomas (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South) in the seventh inning gave Rider a 6-3 lead. “That was another big hit,” Davis said. “We scored most if not all of our runs today with two outs.”
An RBI single with two outs in the first inning by junior Nick Crescenzo (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton) gave Rider a 1-0 lead.
Crescenzo, Parsons and senior Adam Wayman (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial) each had two of Rider's nine hits Sunday. Crescenzo had six hits in the series at Siena. “Nick is really swinging the bat,” Davis said. “He hit a couple of other balls well today that they made nice plays on.”
Rider out-hit Siena (19-23, 10-4 MAAC) 9-7 on Sunday and 30-19 for the series.
Freshman Vincenzo Aiello (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) pitched the ninth inning for his third save. “They had the tying run at the plate, so it got a little hairy,” Davis said. “Vinny gave up two hits but one of them was a cheap one. He walked a guy, which he doesn't usually do, he throws strikes.”
Rider won two of the three games with Siena last year in Lawrenceville. The last time Rider traveled to Loudonville Rider lost two of three in 2011.
Rider and Siena have met 55 times since the series began in 1995 with Rider winning 28. Rider won all three games against Siena in 2010 and all three at Siena in 2009.
Rider hosts Saint Joseph's Tuesday.
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