LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Senior Jordan Silverman (Holland, PA/Council Rock HS South) tossed five innings of one-hit ball out of the bullpen to pick up his first victory of the season as the Rider University baseball team defeated visiting Marist, 9-2, on Friday afternoon at Sonny Pittaro Field in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action.

The Broncs (15-33, 6-13 MAAC) won their second straight conference game in a row at home, while the Red Foxes (24-22, 12-7 MAAC) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.

Rider wasted little getting on the board as the hosts plated runs in each of the first five innings. Riley Mihalik (Churchville, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) got the Broncs on the board in the first with an RBI groundout before Kyle Johnson (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) and Zach Fick (South Elgin, IL/St. Charles North) added run-scoring hits in the second.

The hosts broke open a 4-1 contest with a four-run outburst in the fifth. In the frame, Jack Peterson (Pittstown, NJ/North Hunterdon) had an RBI single to left and Brennan McAllister (Middletown, DE/Middletown) smacked a two-run single up the middle.

Silverman faced just two batters over the minimum in his five innings of work. He struck out three batters without issuing a walk. The lone hit he surrendered was a solo homer in the ninth. In his 12th appearance of the spring, he improved to 1-1 on the year.

NOTES & QUOTES
"We got great performances out of our pitchers today with both Silverman and Vitacco getting it done. At the plate, we swung the bat consistently throughout the day. It was a solid performance against a quality team." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis

- As a team, Rider had 11 hits. It was their first conference contest with 10 or more hits since April 27 at Quinnipiac.
- Four different Broncs had multi-hit games.
- Sophomore Vincent Vitacco got the start for Rider. He worked four innings and allowed just one earned run. Vitacco scattered two hits and walked four batters.
- Vitacco and Silverman combined to surrender just three hits on the day.
- Zach Fick went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
- Kyle Johnson went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored.
- Mike Ionta went 2-for-5 in the game. He hit his second homer of the year in the third inning.

UP NEXT
Rider and Marist close out a three-game weekend set with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 11, starting at noon. Prior to game one, the Broncs will honor their graduating players for their contributions to the program.