LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Melanie Wilkinson's (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South) first career home run, a three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth in Game 1, gave the Rider University softball team a 5-4 win in the Broncs' doubleheader split with Drexel Thursday afternoon at Herb and Joan Young Field. With the split, the Broncs move to 14-26, while the Dragons are now 20-23-2.

Drexel scored the game's first four runs with two in the first and two more in the third. Rider got two back in the bottom of the third, with Rachael Zeides (Woodbine, NJ/Ocean City) leading off with a double and scoring on a Keegan Zavodnik (Murrieta, CA/Lakeside) two bagger. Toni Niño's (Adelanto, CA/Silverado) single put runners on the corners before Wilkinson's fielder's choice pushed Zavodnik across.

In the fifth, Zavodnik walked and Niño reached on an error, both with two out, before Wilkinson went to the opposite field for her first career homer. Debra Jones (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown), who entered in relief in the third inning, pitched the final five innings without allowing a run, scattering four hits and a walk to earn the win.

In Game 2, the Broncs scored three runs, taking advantage of a Drexel error. Following the miscue that scored Niño with the first run, Zeides singled up the middle to score two more, Payton Romines (Colorado Springs, CO/Air Academy) and Gabby Bram (Jackson, NJ/Red Bank Catholic). Drexel tied the score at 3-3 with a two-run double and a squeeze play in the third, before grabbing a 5-3 run on an RBI single and a run-scoring wild pitch in the fourth.

Niño's two-out RBI single cut the deficit to 5-4 in the fourth, before a Zavodnik single and walks to Sabrina Torres (Clifton, NJ/Paramus Catholic) and Zeides loaded the bases in the fifth. Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega then called on her leading home run hitter, Elyse Cuttic (Easton, PA/Bethlehem Catholic), to pinch hit and she delivered her sixth round tripper of the year, a grand slam, to put the Broncs on top, 8-5.

The lead held until the top of the seventh, when an error prolonged the frame and allowed three unearned runs. Both teams scored single tallies in the eighth, before the Dragons scored five in the ninth. The pivotal play came on an overturned groundout on the would-be first out. The throw pulled Bram into the baseline, but an out was called. However, following a very lengthy argument from Drexel's head coach and another lengthy discussion between the two umpires, obstruction on Bram was called, resulting in three Dragons on and no one out. A sacrifice fly, an RBI double and a three-run home run followed to give Drexel a 14-9 lead. Rider was limited to Romines' RBI single as the Dragons' closed out the 14-10 win as the sun set on the three-hour, six-minute Game 2 marathon.
 
QUOTES & NOTES
"Our offense did some good things today, but unfortunately our defense was our nemesis once again. My hope is that we are able to finally put some offense and defense together to have our best games this weekend." – Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega

- The home run was the first of Wilkinson's career.
- Jones pitched five scoreless innings of relief in Game 1 to earn her fourth win of the season. She also got the final two outs in Game 2 without allowing a hit or walk.  
- Emily Oltman (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) went the first 8.1 innings in Game 2 and took the loss.  
- Rider returns to action Saturday, when it travels to Niagara. The doubleheader is scheduled for a noon first pitch.  
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Rider is now 9-3 at home this season.  
- Rider's 14 wins are their most since 2012, when the Broncs won 20 games.
- Zeides led the Broncs offensively, going 4-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI's.  
- Wilkinson drove in a team-high five runs on the day, including four in Game 1. She had two hits, one in each game.
- Niño went 3-for-7 with two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base.
- Zavodnik contributed a pair of hits, a team-high four runs scored and an RBI.
- Romines also had a pair of hits and an RBI.
- Cuttic, Brianna Parisio (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial), Kiera Swank (Bear, DE/Caravel Academy) and Bram had one hit each.
- Niño scored her 36^th and 37^th runs of the year. Only Allyson Melia (40 in 2010) has scored more runs in a single season than Niño in the last 10 years of Rider Softball.
- Through 40 games, Rider has scored 200 runs. In a full 50-game slate in 2017, the Broncs scored only 82 runs.  
- Rider's RBI leader had 11 last season. 10 Broncs currently have at least 11 RBI's and an 11^th has nine.