LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Freshman Payton Romines and sophomore Rachael Zeides (Woodbine, NJ/Ocean City) had four hits each as the Rider University softball team swept Coppin State, 7-3 and 11-3, in a twinbill Thursday afternoon on Herb & Joan Young Field. With the wins, Rider (8-16) has won its last three and six of its last eight games. Coppin State falls to 9-14 with the losses.

In Game 1, the Broncs scored twice in the second, one more in the third and four in the sixth. After the first two Rider batters in the second were retired, Monica Clark (Bryn Mawr, PA/Archbishop Carroll) doubled and Zeides tripled to push across the game's first run. Zeides then scored on Romines' single to left to make it 2-0. Sam Ward (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan) made it 3-0 with her third home run of the year in the third. After a Nia Bowe solo shot got the Eagles on the board in the fifth, Rider scored four more in the sixth. Singles from Zeides and Gabby Bram (Jackson, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) and a walk from Romines loaded the bases for Toni Niño (Adelanto, CA/Silverado), who drove in two with a single. Elyse Cuttic (Easton, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) capped the scoring with a two-out, two-run double to right.

The insurance would be needed, as Coppin State got two runs in the top of the seventh. But Debra Jones (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) came on to earn her first-career save in the circle to close out Cuttic's win.

In Game 2, the Broncs jumped out to a 3-0 lead with Niño leading off the first with a double and scored when the Eagles threw away Amanda Jordan's (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) sacrifice bunt. In the second, triples from Zeides and Kiera Swank (Bear, DE/Caravel Academy) pushed across the first run, before Swank scored the second on a groundout. Coppin State tied the game with three runs in the top of the third on three hits and two errors, before the Broncs scored three of their own in the bottom of the frame to retake the lead for good. Four-straight two-out base hits, capped by Zeides' RBI single and Romines' two-run double put Rider on top, 6-3.

Rider used a five-run bottom of the fifth to end the game early. Again scoring all of their runs with two out, the Broncs made Coppin State pay for three errors, with Romines delivering an RBI double, Swank singling through the right side, two more runs scoring on consecutive errors and Niño walking it off with a two-run double.      
 
NOTES
- Cuttic earned the Game 1 win, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits and two walks. She struck out four. The win was her team-leading fourth of the season.
- The save was the first of Jones' career. She retired both batters she faced.
- Emily Oltman (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) went the full five innings in the Game 2 win, allowing three runs, one earned, on three hits and three walks. For the fourth time this season, she struck out a career-high eight batters.
- After not winning a single game by mercy rule in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, Rider has now won three games by mercy rule in 2018.
- Rider returns to action tomorrow, when it travels to hOURglass rival Monmouth for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The twinbill was moved up a day due to threatening winter weather forecast for Saturday. The doubleheader will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Zeides tripled twice, scored a team-high five runs and drove in two on the day.
- Romines doubled twice, drove in four and scored twice.
- Swank went 3-for-4 in Game 2 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and an RBI.
- Niño chipped in with three hits, two of them doubles, four RBI's and two runs scored.
- Cuttic (3), Bram (2) and Ward (2) also added multiple hits.