College Baseball

Rider University 4, University of Delaware 1

BEL AIR, MD—The Broncs snapped their five-game losing streak with a victory over Delaware in a game held at Harford Community College's turf field. “It was great to get a 'W',” said Rider head coach Barry Davis. “Our pitching and defense was good and we got some timely hitting.”

Rider (3-6) won on the arm of junior Kurt Sowa (Bensalem, PA/Fr. Judge) and the bat of junior Mike Parsons (Liverpool, NY).

Sowa pitched seven innings, allowing just one hit while striking out seven. “That was the best Kurt has thrown all year,” Davis said.  “He had good stuff right from the get-go.”

Sowa was an All-East selection and the MAAC Pitcher of the Year after winning a Rider-record 11 games in 2013 and is now 17-7 in his Rider career.

An RBI single by Parsons in the sixth inning gave Rider a 4-1 lead. Parsons also singled to lead off the game and scored on an error to give the Broncs a 1-0 lead. “He had two big hits for us,” Davis said. “He started the game off for us. That was the first time we even led in a game since game three of the season.”

An RBI double by junior Justin Thomas (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South) and an RBI single by sophomore Lee Lipinski (Glen Arm, MD/Calvert) gave Rider a 3-0 lead in the third. “We didn't get that many hits but we got the timely hits, which we haven't been doing,” Davis said.

Delaware (4-7) used a single, walk, sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to score in the fourth inning, cutting Rider's lead to 3-1.

Rider sophomore Vincenzo Aiello (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the save.

Friday was the first of a three-game series at Delaware with the second game Saturday at 5pm.

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