College Baseball
Saint Joseph's University 6, Rider University 3
LAWRENCEVILLE—The Broncs scored three runs in the last three innings but lost to Saint Joseph's Tuesday afternoon. “We didn't quit,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis, “but we dug ourselves a hole. If we played the first half the way we played the final third we would have been more competitive.”
Saint Joseph's (23-20) scored four runs in the fourth inning on four hits and came back to score two more in the fifth on four more hits and a Rider error. “We gave up a big inning like that when we just couldn't get an out,” Davis said, as the Hawks sent nine runners to the plate.
The College Baseball Insider.com Team of the Week for the Northeast Region, Rider (26-17) was held to just one hit, a first-inning triple by senior Ian Lindsay (Oaklyn/Haddon Twp.), for the first four innings.
Rider junior pitcher Kyle Kennett (Spring Lake, NJ/St. Rose) started and went three and a third innings, allowing two runs on four hits. “Kyle was good for three innings,” Davis said.
Senior Adam Wayman (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial) doubled and had two of Rider's seven hits. His double in the eighth inning extended Wayman's hitting streak to nine games. Wayman now has 215 career hits, six shy of fifth most ever at Rider.
Junior Jerry Mulderig (Langhorne, PA/Council Rock South) pitched two scoreless innings of relief and collected a hit. Mulderig now has 49 hits on the season and 94 for his career. “Jerry did a good job on the mound,” Davis said.
Sophomore Justin Thomas (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South) doubled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to six games.
Freshman James Locklear (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) hit an RBI single in the seventh inning to get Rider on the board.
Sophomore Greg Fazio (Far Hills/Ridge) also singled and has now reached base 12 straight games.
Rider won the last two meetings with the Hawks, 7-5 at Saint Joseph's last year and 10-0 at Rider in 2010. The last time Saint Joseph's beat Rider was in 2008. This was the 55th meeting between Rider and Saint Joseph's in the series that began in 1946. Rider leads the all-time series 38-17. Rider and Saint Joseph's were East Coast Conference rivals from 1975-1982 and Middle Atlantic Conference University Division rivals in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The game was played in front of over 400 fans as most of the Rider varsity athletes were in attendance for Code Cranberry.
The Broncs travel to Lafayette Wednesday. “For us to be the team we want to be we need to come out with a little more intensity than we had today,” Davis said. “It is never easy to win on the road and we've got a big weekend ahead of us.”
Rider resumes MAAC play this weekend with a three-game series at Niagara.
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