WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Senior Riley Mihalik (Churchville, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) hit a pair of home runs and Jordan Silverman (Holland, PA/Council Rock South) pitched 5.1, one-hit scoreless innings as the Rider University baseball team won Game 1 and split a Friday doubleheader at Monmouth. Rider won the first game, 5-3, before the Hawks won the second, 6-2. With the split, the Broncs close out the 2019 season at 17-36 (8-16 MAAC).  

The Broncs took the lead in the top of the first inning of the day's first game, as Joe Simone (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) walked on 11 pitches to lead off the game, moved to second on Mike Ionta's (Westfield, NJ/Westfield [Saint Peter's]) single and, following a double play, scored from third on Sebastian Williamson's (Oley, PA/Oley Valley [Potomac State College]) two-out RBI double. The Hawks tied the game on a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first and took the lead on a two-run home run in the second. But Silverman came on in relief and posted zeroes in the final five frames.  

Meanwhile, in the top of the third, a walk and an error set the table for Mihalik, who pummeled a three-run shot to right to give Rider a 4-3 lead. Mihalik padded the lead with a solo shot to lead off the top of the sixth. The support was more than enough for Silverman, who retired the final 13 batters he faced, including an inning-ending double play to begin the streak in the third. 

Monmouth took a 2-0 lead in the second inning of the final game of the series, using a double and four-straight walks to establish the lead. Rider got a run back in the top of the third, as Zach Fick (South Elgin, IL/St. Charles North) and Richie Tecco (Drexel Hill, PA/Monsignor Bonner) opened the inning with singles before moving up on a Simone sacrifice bunt. Ionta followed with a groundout to score Fick, cutting the deficit in half.

But the Hawks tacked on three runs in the bottom of the sixth on a hit-by-pitch, an error and two hits to push their lead to 5-1. Rider pieced together a two-out rally in the seventh with four-straight singles from Jack Peterson (Pittstown, NJ/North Hunterdon), Fick, Tecco and Simone to get one run back. But Monmouth answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to push the lead to 6-2. Rider closed to 6-5 in the ninth on three walks and a hit-by-pitch, followed by a two-run single from Williamson. However, Monmouth recorded the final out to strand the tying and winning runs on base.  

QUOTES & NOTES
"We competed all day, I thought. Silverman was good. I thought Pap battled. Payesko and Hirschy gave us a couple of outs there. We battled, we hung in there. It's not a good way to end the season, but I feel a little bit better about the way we ended as opposed to the way were playing before these past couple weeks. We were playing pretty poorly. We weren't competing really at all. And we competed today. We got pitching, competed and I'm hoping some of the things that we learned during the year will carry over and certainly we have some changes and adjusting to make."

"We're going to miss the seniors. They gave us four years, in some cases five, and we appreciate that." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis

- The win was the first at Monmouth in 14 tries over the 15-year Rider career of Head Coach Barry Davis.
- Mihalik's two home runs were his team-leading 11^th and 12^th of the season, while his four RBI's give him 40 for the year, also a team best.
- The 5.1 innings represented Silverman's longest outing of the season, following his 5.0 innings in his last appearance, another win over Marist.  
- Colin Eiser (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann Goretti) started the first game for the Broncs, allowing three earned runs on a pair of home runs in 1.2 innings pitched.
- Joe Papeo (Matawan, NJ/Old Bridge) got the start in Friday's second game and went 5.0 innings. He allowed just two hits, but walked seven.
- Zach Gakeler (Jobstown, NJ/North Burlington), Nick Payesko (Yardville, NJ/Holy Ghost Prep) and CJ Hirschy (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) also made relief appearances on the mound in the scond game.  
  
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Mihalik finished the day with a team-high three hits, five RBI's and two runs scored.
- Simone joined Mihalik in scoring twice in the first game, reaching on a hit and three walks. His infield single in the second game also drove in a run. He also added a run in the second game.
- Williamson had two hits on the day, including a two-run single in the second game.
- Fick and Tecco had two hits and a run scored apiece in the second game.  
- Ionta, Williamson and Kyle Johnson (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) had one hit each in the first game.
- Brennan McAllister (Middletown, DE/Middletown) and Peterson also chipped in with a hit each in the second game.