College Softball
Lafayette College 6, Rider University 2
Lafayette College 5, Rider University 4
Irving 100th career hit

LAWRENCEVILLE—Take out the fifth inning in each game and Rider is on a three-game winning streak.

Unfortunately for the Rider University softball team, all of the innings count equally and Lafayette scored five times in the fifth inning of both games to defeat the Broncs in come from behind fashion in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Herb and Joan Young Field.

“This was disappointing,” said head coach Tricia Carroll.  “We had chances in both games and did not take advantage of them.  We left opportunities out there.  We should have won both games.”

In the nightcap, Lafayette (8-29) used three hits, a walk, hit by pitch and a grand slam off sophomore starter Montana Berg (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) to score five runs in the top of the fifth inning, all with two outs, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead.

Berg went five innings and had five strikeouts but allowed but allowed six hits and all five runs were earned.

Freshman Kaitlyn Kallert (Woodland Park/Passaic Valley) worked the final two innings, allowing just one hit.

Rider (5-34) took a 1-0 first inning lead when senior Kehli Washington (Lulea, Sweden/New Rochelle) singled to lead off the game and junior Amanda Irving (Westminster, Md./Westminster) followed with an RBI double.

Irving hit an RBI double to left center field in the third inning, scoring freshman Amanda Crimarco (Levittown, N.Y./Kellenberg) who was hit by a pitch to lead off frame, giving the Broncs a 2-0 lead.  For Irving, it was the 100th hit of her career, becoming the 46th Rider softball player in 37 seasons to reach that plateau.

“I wasn't worried about the 100th hit,” said Irving who entered play as Rider's second leading hitter.  “We had a rough first game and I was just trying to get a nice at-bat and swing easy.  When you do that, things go well.”

Sophomore Emily Cottrell (Beachwood/Toms River HS South) followed with an RBI single up the middle as Rider extended its lead to 3-0.

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, sophomore Dana Sensi (Allentown) hit an RBI single, scoring Washington who reached on an error and the Broncs stranded runners at first and second to end the game.

In the opener, Lafayette scored a first inning run without a hit, converting a walk, stolen base, ground out and fielder's choice into a 1-0 deficit for the Broncs.

Rider took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning, scoring twice on a Lafayette error.  With two outs Cottrell was hit by a pitch and Sensi walked.  Freshman Megan McDonough (Olney, Md./Sherwood) then singled through the right side to load the bases with sophomore Kim Valdes (Jupiter, Fla./King's Academy) reaching on a fielding error, scoring Cottrell and Sensi.

Each team had seven hits in the opener with McDonough, Washington and senior Mary Rossi (Trenton/Notre Dame) all compiling two hits for the Broncs in game one.

Trailing 2-1 in the top of the fifth inning, Lafayette took advantage of two Rider errors and bunched together three hits to score five runs, all unearned off Bronc starting pitcher McDonough and reliever freshman Megan Ailand (Burlingame, Calif./Burlingame).  McDonough was saddled with the loss, working three batters into the fifth inning and allowing four hits and four runs, only one earned.

Ailand worked the final three innings, allowing three hits and two runs, none earned.

“There is so much potential on this team and we just haven't come through,” Carroll added.  “We are doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result and we aren't learning from what is going on around us.  You need to learn from pitch to pitch and at-bat to at-bat.  We are working too hard to get results like we are getting.”

Lafayette left 12 runners on base in the opener.

Today was the 62nd and 63rd meeting between Rider and Lafayette with the Broncs holding 44 wins in the series.

Rider and Lafayette last met on April 23, 2013 in Easton when the Broncs won 5-4, despite being out-hit by the Leopards. 

In 2012, Rider won 9-1 and 13-5 in Lawrenceville over the Leopards.  Lafayette defeated Rider at the Rebel Spring Games on March 16, 2011 by a 5-2 score and won 6-5 in 10 innings at the Rebel Games on March 18, 2010.  The teams met in Lawrenceville on March 11, 2009 with Lafayette winning the opener 7-5 and Rider taking the nightcap 6-0.  The teams last met in Easton, Pa., on April 1, 2008 when the Leopards swept the doubleheader, 8-0 and 9-1.

Rider heads to Western, New York for MAAC doubleheaders against Canisius (Saturday) and Niagara (Sunday).

Rider's last home doubleheader of the season is April 30 against La Salle University.

-RU-