ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Navy baseball team rallied for a walk-off, extra-inning 4-3 victory against visiting Rider University on Sunday afternoon in non-conference action at Max Bishop Stadium.

The Broncs (4-10) dropped their seventh straight game outside of Lawrenceville, while the Midshipmen (12-4) won their fifth home contest in a row and earned the series sweep.

With the game tied at two, Rider opened the top of the eighth with three straight singles to load the bases. Following a strikeout, sophomore shortstop Richie Tecco (Drexel Hill, PA/Monsignor Bonner) gave the Broncs a 3-2 advantage as his grounder brought senior Jake Bender (Ellicott City, MD/Marriots Ridge) racing home.

After a scoreless bottom of the eighth, Rider looked to add to their lead with sophomore Kyle Johnson (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) stealing third with one out. Johnson was later gunned down at the plate after a fly out to right from Harrison McClure (Atlanta, GA/North Atlanta).

With two outs and two runners on the bottom of the ninth, Navy broke through on reliever Vincent Vitacco (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) to knot the tilt at three. Rider would then go down in order in the tenth before the Mids walked off on a one-out single in the bottom half.

At the plate, McClure and Bender paced the Rider attack with three hits apiece, while Joe Simone (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) and Riley Mihalik (Churchville, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) each recorded a pair of hits.

On the mound, junior Jordan Silverman (Holland, PA/Council Rock HS South) was stellar. He tossed three and a third scoreless innings of relief for the Broncs. Vitacco was saddled with his second loss of the spring after tossing one inning and allowing two earned runs.

NOTES & QUOTES
"We have to learn how to close games. We missed opportunities on offense once again." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis

- Rider is 2-8 in true road games this season.
- It was Rider's third extra-inning game of the year. The Broncs are 1-2 in those games.
- Rider did not commit an error in the game. It was their four game of the spring without a fielding miscue.
- Rider had a season-high 12 hits.
- It was Rider's second game in the series with 11 or more hits. It also marked the fifth time in 2018 that the Broncs smacked 10 or more hits in a game.
- The Broncs stranded nine runners on base, while the Mids left 13 on base.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Silverman surrendered three hits and fanned one batter. It was his team-leading fifth scoreless appearance of the season.  
- Zach Gakeler got the start for the Broncs. He worked the first five innings of the contest and surrendered two earned runs. He struck out two Mids and scattered seven hits.
- Simone went 2-for-4 with a walk and one run scored. It was his third straight two-hit game.
- McClure recorded his second three-hit game of the year, going 3-for-5 with an RBI.
- Bender's three-hit game was his first of 2018. He went 3-for-5.
- Mihalik ran his hitting streak to five games with his third multi-hit game of the year. He now has 95 career hits.  

UP NEXT
Rider heads south for a two-game series with Campbell that gets underway on Tuesday, March 13 at 6:00 pm.