DOVER, DE – The Rider University baseball team took both ends of a doubleheader against Delaware State on Monday afternoon at Soldier Field. The Broncs won the opener, 3-1, and rallied to defeat the Hornets, 8-6, in the finale.

Rider (4-3) has now won three of their last four games, while the Hornets (2-4) saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.

In game one, sophomore Pete Soporowski (South Amboy, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) got the start for Rider and tossed a gem to pick up his first victory of the season. Soporowski worked six innings and allowed just one earned run, while scattering six hits. Freshman reliever Vincent Vitacco (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) worked the final frame to earn his second save of the spring.

Offensively, sophomore Joe Simone (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) paced the Bronc attack in the opener with a pair of hits. Simone plated the first Rider run of the day with an RBI double in the first. Senior Harrison McClure (Atlanta, GA/North Atlanta) also added an RBI double in the game for Rider.

Trailing, 6-3, in the top of the seventh in game two, Rider rallied to score five runs to take back the lead. During the frame, the Broncs smacked three straight two-out hits, highlighted by freshman Jake Barbiere (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) hitting a game-tying, two-run double to left. Also in the stanza, Richie Tecco (Drexel Hill, PA/Monsignor Bonner) and Dallas Clark (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) added run-scoring singles.

In relief, junior Jordan Silverman (Holland, PA/Council Rock HS South) tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless in game two to earn the win.   

NOTES & QUOTES
"It was nice to get two wins on the road. Delaware State is a good team. Their starting pitchers are similar to what we will face later in MAAC play. We need to turnaround pretty quickly with our game tomorrow against Lafayette. We still have plenty to work on." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis

- Rider is 2-1 in true road games this season.
- The Broncs are outscoring opponents, 9-1, in the seventh inning this season.
- Two of Rider's four wins have come when trailing after the sixth inning.
- The Broncs stole six bases in game two.
- The top-three hitters in Rider's lineup (Kyle Johnson, Joe Simone and Harrison McClure) combined for seven of the team's 12 hits on the day.  
- Rider scored five of their 11 runs on the day in the first inning (2 in game one and 3 in game two).
- Rider didn't commit an error in game one.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Brennan McAllister recorded his first career steal in game.
- Jake Bender stole home in game two in the first inning with two outs.
- Joe Simone went 4-for-7 on the day with three runs scored, one walk and one RBI.
- Vitacco has still not allowed an earned run this season.
- Soporowski struck out seven Hornets in the opener

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action on Tuesday, February 27 with a road contest against Lafayette that is scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm at Diamond Nation in Flemington, New Jersey.