CHARLESTON, SC – The Rider University baseball team defeated Charleston Southern, 7-6, in six innings on Sunday afternoon at Nielsen Field.
 
The Broncs (3-0) completed the three-game sweep of the Buccaneers (0-4) with the victory.
 
Rider broke open a 2-2 tie with a five-run outburst in the top of the sixth inning. In the frame, senior Sebastian Williamson (Pley, PA/Oley Valley) hit a two-run single up the middle and classmate Zach Fick (South Elgin, IL/St. Charles North) smacked an RBI double down the right-field line. The two other Bronc runs in the frame came around to score on a wild pitch and a passed ball.
 
On the bump, freshman Alec Sachias (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Holy Spirit) tossed two and a third scoreless innings of one-hit ball to pick up the victory. Junior Joe Papeo (Matawan, NJ/Old Bridge) worked the final two-thirds of an inning to pick up his first career save.
 
QUOTES
"We literally weathered the storm today, playing most of the game in a steady rain. It was needed. We can't always play when it's nice out. You need to adjust, be tough mentally and handle what's thrown at you." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis
 
"It was clearly not our best outing on the mound with seven walks and two hit batters, but we found a way to close it out. Sachais and Papeo combined to give us three scoreless innings of relief." – Davis
 
"Another plus was the opportunity to see some guy who did not play Saturday. We need to improve if we want to be successful at East Tennessee next week." – Davis
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Kenny Quijano got the start for the Broncs and worked two and two-thirds innings and struck out two hitters while allowing two earned runs.
- Freshman Luke Lesch added an RBI single.
- Senior Tyler Stockwell had an RBI on a ground out.
- The Broncs worked seven walks at the plate to go along with their seven hits.
- Freshman John Volpe went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored.
 
UP NEXT
Rider travels south again for a three-game series at East Tennessee State on February 21-23.