Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Rider Broncs (12-24) vs. Villanova Wildcats (22-17-1)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb and Joan Young Field
First Pitch: 2:30 p.m.
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

Thursday, April 26, 2018
Rider Broncs (12-24) vs. Drexel Dragons (17-22-2)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb and Joan Young Field
First Pitch: 2:30 p.m.
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

What You Need To Know
- The Broncs are 7-1 at home this season, including seven-straight wins.
- Rider fell in a pair of close games last time out, Saturday at Fairfield.  
- The Wildcats have won four-straight games, including a three-game weekend sweep of Georgetown this past weekend.   
- Drexel was swept by Hofstra in a three-game league series this past weekend and faces Lafayette on Tuesday.
- Both Villanova and Drexel's records feature ties. The two teams played to an 8-8 tie through six innings on April 3 before weather halted the game. Drexel also tied Akron, 1-1, on Feb. 25 through five innings. The Dragons had taken a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth before torrential downpour stopped the game and the score reverted back to 1-1.
- Rider's offense has been very much improved under first-year Head Coach Davon Ortega. Last year's team scored a total of 82 runs in 50 games, while this year's team currently has 179 runs through 36 games. Last year's RBI leader had 11, while the Broncs currently have 10 players with 11 or more RBI's and an 11^th with nine.  
- Rider has won three games this season by the mercy rule and is 3-2 in games shortened by the mercy rule. The Broncs' last win by mercy rule prior to this season came in April 2014. Between mercy rule wins, Rider had lost 38 straight mercy-rule decisions.
- Rider has enjoyed relative success in spite of injuries to its starting second and third basemen. Maddy Chain was hitting .371 when she was injured on March 31, before Monica Clark, who was hitting .347, was injured in the Broncs' next twinbill on April 5.
- Senior outfielder Toni Niño (Adelanto, CA/Silverado) has scored a team-high 34 runs this season. She scored six runs in all of 2017 and had 36 in her first three seasons at Rider. Rider's team leaders had 12 runs scored in 50 games played last season. Only Kehli Washington (34 in 2013) and Allyson Melia (40 in 2010) have scored as many or more runs in a single season than Niño in the last 10 years of Rider Softball.
- Sophomore pitcher Elyse Cuttic (Easton, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) has been effective both in the circle (team-leading 3.62 ERA, five wins) and in the batter's box (.323 average, team-leading five home runs, 22 RBI's).
- Nikki Alden leads a potent Villanova offense at .395 with a pair of home runs and 19 RBI's. Brittany Husk is close behind at .364 with three home runs and 24 RBI's. Lauren Hanna and Dana Morris have each hit five home runs and six doubles. Morris leads the team with 27 RBI's, while Hanna has driven in 23.
- Anissa Amarillas is the Wildcats' best pitcher, boasting a 15-10 record and a 3.30 ERA.
- Kristi DiMeo leads Drexel with a .404 average, 11 home runs and 40 RBI's. Linda Rush is also a feared hitter with 10 home runs, 43 RBI's and 37 runs scored.
- Brooklyn Daly headlines three Drexel pitchers with more than 76 innings pitched this year with a 5-5 record and a 4.29 ERA. Katie Haley has a team-high seven wins, while posting a 5.21 ERA.