NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – The Rider University baseball team fell on the road to Niagara, 8-2, on Saturday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) at Bobo Field.

The Broncs (11-31, 6-12 MAAC) dropped their sixth straight contest, while the Purple Eagles (20-24, 9-10 MAAC) won their fourth home game in a row.

Niagara broke open up a two-run contest with four runs on three hits in the bottom of the eighth. The Purple Eagles started the eighth with a solo homer and pushed across three more runs despite leaving the bases loaded to take an 8-2 edge into the ninth.

Senior Harrison McClure (Atlanta, GA/North Atlanta) hit a one-out single in the ninth and later stole second, but he was stranded as Niagara reliever Tyler Howard struck out the final two Broncs he faced to seal the victory.

Both of Rider's runs on the day came via solo home runs. The Broncs opened the scoring in the top of the second as McClure launched a bomb to lead off the frame. Niagara quickly answered with a run in the bottom half.

In the seventh, junior Riley Mihalik (Churchville, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) brought the Broncs within two with a one-out solo shot.

On the mound, sophomore Pete Soporowski (South Amboy, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) got the start and worked the first seven-plus innings for Rider. He scattered 11 hits and surrendered five runs (four of which were earned), while punching out four Purple Eagles. Soporowski was saddled with the loss as he moves to 3-6 on the year.  

NOTES & QUOTES
"We didn't hit at all today. We played fairly solid for seven innings. Unfortunately, it was a nine inning game. – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis

- Rider is now 4-23 on the road this season and 6-25 overall outside of Lawrenceville.
- The Broncs had four hits and committed one error defensively.

 BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Mihalik's homer was his team-leading sixth of the year. It is a new single-season career-high for him as he hit four as a freshman and five last season. He also has a team-best 27 RBIs this spring and 80 for his career.
- McClure had two of the team's four hits. He hit a single and his fifth homer of the year. The multi-hit game was his 10th of 2018. He has 80 career hits in two season with the Broncs.
- Senior Jake Bender had the other Bronc hit on the day.
- Out of the pen, CJ Hirschy got the final three outs for the Broncs. He worked one inning and struck out one Purple Eagle, while giving up three earned runs.  

UP NEXT
Rider and Niagara close out the three-game weekend series on Sunday, May 13 with a doubleheader beginning at noon. The first game is a seven-inning affair followed by a nine-inning contest.