2018 Rider University Baseball
MAAC Series
GAMES 35, 36 & 37 – Saturday, April 28, 2018 and Sunday, April 29, 2018.
Rider Broncs (10-24, 5-6 MAAC) vs. Canisius Golden Griffins (22-15, 10-5 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Sonny Pittaro Field)
First Pitch Game One: Saturday at noon
First Pitch Game Two: Saturday at 2:30 pm (7 innings)
First Pitch Game Three: Sunday at noon
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball

What You Need to Know
- Rider returns home for its final MAAC series of the month of April. The three-game set with Canisius gets underway on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon. The series is the second to last at Sonny Pittaro Field this season for the Broncs. Game one on Saturday is a nine-inning contest followed by a seven-inning tilt later in the day. The series concludes on Sunday afternoon with a nine-inning game.

- Canisius enters the weekend coming off a 17-10 midweek thumping of Niagara. The Griffs have won seven of their last nine MAAC games, highlighted by sweeping both Iona and Saint Peter's. In their last league series, Quinnipiac took two out of three from Canisius in Buffalo.

- As a team, Canisius leads the MAAC with a .273 batting average and the Griffs have also plated a conference-leading 257 runs this spring. Defensively, Canisius boasts the second-best fielding percentage (.965) in the conference. The Griffs have a MAAC-best team ERA of 4.33 and Canisius pitchers have struck out 284 batters in 2018.

- Rider is coming off a 4-3 midweek loss to regional rival Saint Joseph's. Last weekend, the Broncs dropped two of three in a conference series at Manhattan. Four of Rider's last five losses have come by one run. In one run games the Broncs are 1-10 this spring.

- As a team, the Broncs are hitting .260 with 158 runs scored. The Broncs rank second in the MAAC with 50 steals this season. Senior Harrison McClure leads the team with eight thefts, while Jake Bender, Joe Simone and Kyle Johnson all have seven steals apiece.  

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR CANISIUS
- Redshirt senior Liam Wilson: He has started 36 games for the Griffs and is batting a team-best .361 with 53 hits, 20 doubles and 33 RBIs.
- Senior Ryan Stekl: He has also started 36 games and is batting .285 with a team-high 38 RBIs and eight home runs. Nineteen of his 39 hits this year have gone for extra bases.
- Senior pitcher JP Stevenson: Stevenson has made 10 starts and tossed one complete game in 2018. He has pitched a team-high 60.2 innings of work and boasts a team-leading 2.52 ERA. He has fanned 62 batters and has a 6-1 record.
- Junior pitcher Andrew Sipowicz: Sipowicz has made 10 appearances for the Griffs, including eight starts. He has worked 41 innings and struck out 24 hitters in 2018. He also has a 6-1 record this spring and has an ERA of 4.39.
- Senior pitcher Tyler Smith: Smith, the Griffs closer, has made a team-leading 16 appearances out of the bullpen. He holds an impressive 0.89 ERA and seven saves this spring. He has worked 20.1 innings and struck out 29 hitters.

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR RIDER
- Sophomore outfielder Joe Simone: Simone has appeared in all 34 games and made 34 starts for the Broncs. He leads the team in batting average (.341), runs scored (24), hits (44), total bases (63), slugging percentage (.488), on-base percentage (.459) and he is tied with Riley Mihalik and McClure for the most doubles on the team (10).
- Senior infielder Jake Bender: Bender has started all 34 games for the Broncs and earlier this spring he recorded his 100th career hit. He is batting .305 this spring with a .353 on-base percentage. He has struck out the fewest times of the Rider every day starters. Defensively, he's played both first and second base and amassed a .987 fielding percentage.
- Junior first basemen/DH Riley Mihalik: Mihalik has continued to improve throughout the season and he's started 33 games for the Broncs. Earlier this spring he also recorded his 100th career hit. He was named the MAAC Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week on April 17. He is currently batting .301 with a team-high 23 RBIs.
- Junior pitcher CJ Hirschy: After missing last season due to a medical redshirt, Hirschy has made 11 appearances and three starts for the Broncs in 2018. He has team-best ERA of 3.23 and he has struck out 18 hitters in 30.2 innings of work. He has not allowed a run over his last five appearances (11.1 innings of work).
- Sophomore pitcher Pete Soporowski: Soporowski has made nine starts for the Broncs this year. He has a 3-3 record to go along with a 5.24 ERA in 46.1 innings of work. He has struck out 37 batters and is issuing just over two walks per start. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his starts this year. He has tossed at least five innings in five starts as well.
- Freshman pitcher Vincent Vitacco: Vitacco has made 13 appearances for the Broncs this year and three starts. He has an 0-3 record and is tied with Jordan Silverman for the team-lead with two saves. In 27.2 innings of work, he has struck out 23 batters. Last time out against Manhattan, he delivered his strongest start in a Rider uniform. He scattered six hits and fanned five Jaspers in 7.1 innings of work. The start was the longest of Vitacco's career. He struck out five or more batters for the third time in his career and the second against a MAAC opponent. He left the game with a one-run lead and the game-tying run on first in the seventh.