EASTON, PA – Fresh off being awarded MAAC Rookie of the Week,
Keegan Zavodnik (Murrieta, CA/Lakeside) went 5-for-7 with three doubles as the Rider University softball team swept Lafayette, 6-2 and 7-4, on the road Wednesday afternoon. With the wins, the Broncs improve to 5-15, while the Leopards fall to 3-21. Game 2 was shortened to five innings due to darkness.
The Broncs jumped out in front with a run in the top of the first in Game 1. Toni Niño (Adelanto, CA/Silverado) singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, took third on a
Maddy Chain (Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester City) infield single and scored on
Elyse Cuttic's (Easton, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) single through the left side. Rider added another single tally on
Sam Ward's (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan) home run to left in the second.
Rider tacked on another run in the top of the fifth, as Niño doubled with one out, took third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch. The Leopards got on the board with Brooke Wensel's two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Broncs' lead to 3-2. But Rider got both runs back immediately in the top of the sixth as Zavodnik doubled for the second time,
Monica Clark (Bryn Mawr, PA/Archbishop Carroll) singled and both scored on a
Gabby Bram (Jackson, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) two-out, two-run single. The Broncs tacked on another run in the seventh as Niño reached on an error, took second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Chain's single to right. The support was more than enough for Cuttic, who finished off the complete-game effort in the circle.
In Game 2, the Broncs scored two in the first and four more in the second to jump out to a six-run lead. The first three batters of the game all reached, with Chain delivering an RBI single to get Rider on the board. An error allowed the second run to score, making it 2-0 after one. Singles from Bram and Ward and a Niño walk loaded the bases for
Amanda Jordan (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) in the second. The junior hit a two-run double, before Chain's sacrifice fly made it 5-0. Zavodnik capped the second-inning scoring with a two-out RBI double to score Jordan, making it 6-0.
The Broncs added a single run in the fourth on a pair of Leopards errors to push the lead to 7-0. The Leopards came alive in the bottom of the fourth with four runs, but Cuttic came on to end the inning and pitched a scoreless fifth to earn the save.
QUOTES & NOTES
"Today we finally put some offense, defense and pitching all together. We did the little things well and showed tremendous progress as a team. It's great to be able to ride this momentum heading into MAAC play this weekend."
– Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega
- Cuttic went the distance in the Game 1 win, allowing just two earned runs on six hits and two walks. She struck out three. She then picked up the Game 2 save with 1.1 perfect innings, striking out one more.
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Debra Jones (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) earned her first-career victory in the circle, pitching 3.0 innings of relief in Game 2. She allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits while striking out four without walking a batter.
- Rider opens MAAC play Saturday, when it plays host to Quinnipiac. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Niño scored a team-high five runs out of the leadoff spot, touching home each time she reached base on the day. She had two hits, two walks and reached on an error. She's now scored a team-high 21 runs. Rider's team leaders had 12 runs scored all of last season, while Niño crossed home plate just six times in 2017.
- After going hitless in her first 10 at bats over seven games, Zavodnik is 12 for her last 21 (.571) to raise her batting average to a team-best .387.
- Ward, Bram and Chain had three hits each, while Jordan and Niño added two apiece.
- Jordan also scored three runs and drove in two. Chain and Bram joined her with two RBI's each. Chain now leads the team with 15 RBI's on the year, four more than the Broncs' team leader for the entire 2017 season.
- Ward doubled, homered and scored twice.
