LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Sam Ward (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) contributed three hits, but the Rider University softball team was swept by Canisius, 8-6 and 9-1, Sunday afternoon at Herb and Joan Young Field. With the losses, the Broncs fall to 3-23 (1-3 MAAC), while the Golden Griffins are now 4-20 (2-2 MAAC).

The Griffs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first of Game 1 and never trailed. The Broncs got a run back in the bottom of the first when Kelsey Marigliano (Seaford, NY/Plainledge), who'd reached on a one-out walk, scored on a wild pitch. The Griffs tacked on a pair of runs in both the second and third, before the Broncs got three runs in the bottom of the third. Brianna Parisio (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) led off with a double and scored on Marigliano's single up the middle. Ward and Lani Moreno (Claremont, CA/Claremont) followed with an RBI single and RBI double, respectively, to cut the deficit to 8-4. The Broncs added two more in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run single by Elyse Cuttic (Easton, PA/Bethlehem Catholic). But the Broncs could draw no closer and the Griffs came away with the 8-6 win.

In Game 2, the Griffs again led throughout, scoring two in the first, one in the second and six in the fifth. Rider scored its lone run in the bottom of the fifth, with Moreno singling, advancing to second on a wild pitch, taking third on a groundout and scoring on Kiera Swank's (Bear, DE/Caravel Academy) two-out RBI single.
 
NOTES
- Brooklyn Trujillo (Henderson, CO/Prairie View) started Game 1 in the circle and took the loss, allowing four earned runs on five hits and a walk in 0.2 innings.
- Debra Jones (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) pitched the final 6.1 innings of Game 1 in relief, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five.
-  Cuttic was the pitcher of record in Game 2, allowing nine runs, eight earned, on 12 hits and a walk in 4.2 innings. She struck out three.  
- Emily Oltman (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) recorded the final out against the only batter she faced for the Broncs in Game 2 via strikeout.
- The Broncs return to action Wednesday, when they face local foe Princeton on the road. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m.   

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Ward had three hits for the second-straight day, while also scoring a run and driving in one.
- Gabby Bram (Jackson, NJ/Red Bank Catholic), Marigliano and Moreno had two hits each. Marigliano scored a team-best three runs and drove in another, while Moreno contributed a run scored and an RBI.
- Cuttic, Rachael Zeides (Woodbine, NJ/Ocean City), Swank and Grace Stansfield (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter) also had one hit each. Cuttic drove in two, while Swank had one RBI. Stansfield scored once.