Box Score College Baseball
Rider University 6, St. Joseph's University 4
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—The Broncs remained undefeated at home (9-0) with a victory over Saint Joseph's University Tuesday afternoon.
Rider (20-17) has now won 16 of its last 19 games.
Rider senior Greg Fazio (Far Hills/Ridge), who was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Week earlier in the day, had two hits and knocked in three runs. “Greg has been coming to the plate with runners on base lately and he's hot right now,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis.
“I'm feeling pretty good at the plate right now,” said Fazio, who has seven hits in his last 14 at bats, including three doubles.
Rider freshman pitcher Paul Sparano (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) pitched six and two-thirds innings for his first collegiate win. “We needed that from him,” Davis said. “That was big for us today for him to go out and get us into the seventh inning. Paul did a fantastic job. He gave us seven good innings.”
“I felt pretty good today,” said Sparano, the Trentonian Player of the Year last season at Ewing High. “After I gave up three runs (in the second inning) I started throwing the ball a little harder and starting working ahead (in the count).”
An RBI single by Fazio in the fifth inning gave Rider a 6-4 lead.
Rider senior Nick Richter (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary-Grove) hit an RBI single in the fourth inning to give Rider a 5-3 lead.
The Hawks (16-20) cut the lead to 5-4 in the fifth inning with an inside-the-park home run when the Rider outfielder failed to make a diving shoestring catch.
An RBI single by sophomore Tyler Kaiser (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown), a two-run double by Fazio and an RBI double by senior Mike Parsons (Liverpool, NY) gave Rider a 4-0 lead in the first inning. “The bats came alive early,” Davis said. “Getting that lead early was important for Paul (Sparano).
“I think it is always important to score early, to give the pitcher a lead to work with,” Fazio said.
St. Joe's came right back and scored three runs in the top of the second inning on four hits.
Kaiser, Fazio and junior James Locklear (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) each had two of Rider's eight hits.
Rider senior closer Eric Thomas (Dallastown, PA/Dallastown Area) pitched a one-two-three ninth inning, striking out all three batters he faced for the save, his ninth. Thomas has yet to allow an earned run this season.
This was the 57th meeting between these two former Middle Atlantic Conference and East Coast Conference rivals, with Rider holding a 39-18 advantage in the series that began in 1946. Saint Joe's had won the last two meetings.
Rider travels to Lafayette for a 3:30pm game Wednesday. The Broncs return to MAAC action this weekend with a three-game series at Manhattan.
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