Lawrenceville, NJ – The Rider University baseball team opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play by splitting a doubleheader with Iona on Saturday afternoon at Sonny Pittaro. The Broncs (6-16, 1-1 MAAC) took the opener, 9-3, while the visiting Gaels (6-16, 2-3 MAAC) won the nightcap, 12-0.  

In the opener, sophomore Kyle Johnson (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) went 2-for-3 with a career-high five RBIs and classmate Pete Soporowski (South Amboy, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) pitched six shutout innings to lead the Broncs to victory.

The Broncs started the scoring in game one in third inning as junior Riley Mihalik (Churchville, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) hit a groundout that plated a run and Johnson had a sacrifice fly. The pair were at it again in the fifth, hitting back-to-back RBI singles to give the hosts a 4-0. Rider broke the contest open in bottom of the eight with a three-run outburst courtesy of a two-run double by Johnson and RBI triple to right center from classmate Joe Simone (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills).

In the second game, Iona's Schulyer Bates tossed five and two-third innings of shutout, one-hit ball to lead the Gaels to the win. Rider's first hit in the contest came in bottom of the sixth off the bat of senior Harrison McClure (Atlanta, GA/North Atlanta).

For the Broncs, junior Zach Gakeler (Jobstown, NJ/North Burlington) got the start in game two and took the loss. He worked five innings and allowed seven earned runs to go along with four strikeouts.  

NOTES & QUOTES
"We swung the bat consistently in game one. Their pitcher is good. He throws strikes and he beat us last year in the MAAC Tournament. We were able to put the bat on the ball and find some holes. Pete was really good for us and so was Jordan. Pete's been giving us good outings. He always gives us a chance when he goes out there." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis

"In game two they punched us in the face right from the get go and we didn't punch back. They scored three runs with two outs. We never answered." – Davis  

- The Broncs have allowed seven unearned runs in their last three games.
- Rider tied a season-high with 15 hits in the opener.
- Game one marked the seventh time this year that the Broncs had 10 or more hits.   
- In the opener, six Broncs had multi-hit games.
- Rider left seven runners on base in game two. The Broncs left a runner on base in every inning in game two except the seventh.
- The one hit in game two was the fewest of the season for the Broncs.

 BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Pete Soporowski tossed six innings and allowed zero earned runs. He scattered five hits and struck out five Gaels, while walking three hitters. He improved to 2-2 on the year. It was second start of the year in which he tossed six or more scoreless innings. He has allowed one or fewer earned runs in five of his six starts this spring. It was fourth start in which he worked six or more innings.
- Junior Jordan Silverman worked the final three innings of game one to earn his first save of the season. He allowed one earned run and scattered four hits. It was his second career save. He made team-leading 13 appearance out of the bullpen.
- Riley Mihalik went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in game one. It was his third three-hit game of the season and his third contest with two or more RBIs this spring.

UP NEXT
The Broncs and Gaels close out the three-game weekend contest with a single, nine-inning contest on Monday, April 2 at 3:30 pm .