BASEBALL
May 3-4, 2019
Rider Broncs (13-31, 4-11 MAAC) vs. Manhattan Jaspers (18-27, 10-5 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Sonny Pittaro Field)
First Pitch Game One: 12:30 PM on Friday
First Pitch Game Two: 3:00 pm on Friday
First Pitch Game Three: 12:00 pm on Saturday
Live Stats: SidearmStats
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Rider hosts Manhattan in a three-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series this weekend on campus at Sonny Pittaro Field. Due to inclement weather expected in the area, the series has been shifted. The two teams will play a doubleheader starting at 12:30 pm on Friday, May 3. The series will conclude with a single, nine-inning contest on Saturday, May 4, at noon.
- The Jaspers have taken two out of three from the Broncs in each of the last two seasons. Rider enters Friday in the midst of an 11-game losing streak. Manhattan is coming off a 2-1 midweek victory over Stony Brook on Wednesday.
- Earlier this week, Rider lost to Quinnipiac, Lafayette and Rutgers. Most recently, the Broncs saw a ninth-inning rally fall short against the Scarlet Knights. In the final frame at Rutgers, the Broncs plated four run courtesy of RBI singles from
Jack Peterson and
Kyle Johnson.
- The weekend rotation for the Broncs will be
Vincent Vitacco,
Andrew Imperatore and
Joe Papeo. Vitacco is 2-6 with a 6.10 ERA in a team-best 61 innings of work. Imperatore has amassed a team-best three victories this season and he will be making his fifth start of the year. Papeo will be making his 13th start of the year and he has struck out 45 hitters in 45 and a third innings of work.
- Offensively,
Riley Mihalik and
Sebastian Williamson are the two everyday starters hitting over .300 this season for the Broncs. The pair are tied for tops on the team will 53 hits. Mihalik is batting .323 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs. He also has a .567 slugging percentage and a .410 on-base percentage. In his career, Mihalik has 185 hits, 25 home runs, 117 RBIs and 109 runs scored. In program history he ranks seventh in homers, 19th in RBIs and 21st in hits.
- Williamson leads Rider with 11 stolen bases this year. He is batting .325 with 25 runs scored, 19 RBIs and 13 extra-base hits. In three games this week, he is hitting .583 (7-of-12) with a pair of three-hit games.
