College Baseball

Rider University 6, Iona College 1

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—The Broncs defeated Iona in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Sunday to sweep the series three games to none.

It wasn't the best-played game of the season, but the Broncs will take it.  “Nine errors between the two teams,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis.  “It wasn't pretty, but we were able to take advantage of their mistakes.”

Rider senior Kurt Sowa (Bensalem, PA/Fr. Judge) pitched seven innings, striking out eight while allowing just one unearned run. “You could see early that with his velocity and command of more than one pitch, he was going to have a good day,” Davis said. “He was attacking the strike zone. That's about as sharp as he's been in a while.”

“My off-speed stuff, cutter and change-up, were working well for me today,” said Sowa, the 2013 MAAC Pitcher of the Year.  “I was able to throw that in fastball counts and get ahead of the hitters and set up the fastball.”

Sowa did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and did not allow a walk until the sixth inning. “That got my confidence up, getting everybody out,” said Sowa, who improved to 3-2 on the season. “We scored some early runs, which was big. Pitching with a lead was a big help.”

With the victory, Sowa improves to 21-12 in his career. “That's exciting,” Sowa said, “but I was happier about our team winning a sweep of the series.”

“He's won a lot of games for us,” Davis said.  “He's always been able to get you into the fifth or sixth inning and today he pitched seven. He was very good today and a big reason why we won.”

Only five other Rider pitchers have ever compiled 21 career wins.

Rider (19-17, 9-3 MAAC) took advantage of five Iona errors to score four unearned runs in the game.

The Broncs jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings on four hits and three Gael errors. “We got ahead, and Kurt was really good,” Davis said.

Senior Nick Richter (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary-Grove) led off the first inning with a double down the left field line and scored on an RBI single by senior Justin Thomas (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South).  Richter had two hits on the day and scored twice.

Junior James Locklear (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) hit an RBI single in the fourth inning for a 5-0 lead. Locklear had two hits in the game.

Senior Greg Fazio (Far Hills/Ridge) doubled in the fifth inning, advanced to third on a fly out and scored on a sacrifice bunt by senior Eric Strano (Robbinsville). Fazio also had two hits on the day, as did junior Jordan Leinweber (Castle Rock, CO/Douglas County).

Iona (12-29, 7-11 MAAC) scored an unearned run in the sixth inning on a pair of Rider errors.

Rider has now won 15 of its last 18 games and the Broncs are 8-0 at home. “This is only the second weekend we've been home,” Davis said.  “It is nice to play at home. I almost forgot what it was like. I didn't even realize we haven't lost yet at home but we sure would like to keep it that way.”

“We like playing at home,” Sowa said.  “We get nice crowds and everyone gets fired up. We enjoy playing here.”

Rider returns to Sonny Pittaro Field Tuesday to host St. Joseph's at 3:30. Tuesday will also be Code Cranberry. “St. Joe's has kind of had our number the last few years so we're going to have to play well,” Davis said. “They are much improved.”

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