Lexington, SC – The Rider University baseball team closed out a season-opening, four-game series against Ohio University with a 6-5 extra-inning, walk-off win on Sunday afternoon in a neutral-site clash at Lexington County Stadium.

The Broncs (2-2) got strong performances from their pitchers and timely offense in the 11th inning, while the Bobcats (2-2) surrendered a late-inning advantage for the first-time this spring.  

Senior Harrison McClure (Atlanta, GA/North Atlanta) smacked three hits in the game as Rider rallied to take down Ohio.

Trailing, 4-3, McClure led off the home half of the seventh with a solo shot to left field to tie the game at four.

The two teams would remain knotted at four until the top of the 11th when the Bobcats took a 5-4 edge on a two-out double to center.

In the bottom half, McClure plated freshman Kyle Johnson (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) on a single through the left side and later in the stanza senior Jake Bender (Ellicott City, MD/Marriots Ridge) brought home the game-winning run with a one-out sac fly to left.

On the mound, junior Eric Schulte (Vero Beach, FL/Vero Beach) picked up the win in his first appearance for the Broncs. Rider got a strong start from redshirt junior CJ Hirschy (Toms River, NJ/Toms River HS East). In his first start in over a year, he tossed 4.1 innings of work and fanned four hitters.  

NOTES & QUOTES
"Our pitching was exceptional today, especially Hirschy. It was his first competitive action since 2016 and we had strong stuff from our guys out of the bullpen. It was Schulte's first-time pitching as he's a converted catcher. It was a nice way to close against a solid Ohio team." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis

- Five Bronc pitchers combined to strike out 14 hitters, while walking just three.
- The extra-inning was Rider's first since April of 2017.
- Rider had 10 hits.
- The Broncs committed just one error defensively.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- McClure went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two walks, two runs scored and a homer. The solo shot was his second of the series.
- The top four hitters in the Rider lineup (Johnson, Joe Simone, McClure and Riley Mihalik) all had two walks apiece.
- Freshman Lou Priolo had his first collegiate steal in the game.
- Freshman Vincent Vitacco tossed three scoreless innings. He struck out five hitters and scattered three hits.
- Jordan Silverman fanned three hitters in 1.2 innings of work.
- Jake Bender is now one hit away from 100 in his career.

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action next weekend, February 23-25 with a three-game series at Delaware State. Last season, the Broncs defeated the Hornets, 4-2, as part of the Bob Hannah Invitational in early March.