JOHNSON CITY, TN – The Rider University baseball team fell on the road to East Tennessee State, 7-0, on Friday afternoon at Thomas Stadium on Friday afternoon.
 
The Broncs (3-1) saw their three-game winning streak to open the season come to an end, while the Bucs (4-1) bounced back from a road loss to Virginia Tech on Tuesday.
 
ETSU broke open a scoreless game with a four-run outburst in the home half of the fifth. In the frame, East Tennessee State took advantage of a pair of Rider errors. All four runs that the Bucs scored in the frame were unearned.
 
Senior left-hander Pete Soporowski (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) was the tough-luck loser for the Broncs. He tossed four and two-thirds innings and allowed four unearned runs.
 
QUOTES
"We have little room for error and we made two costly errors in the fifth. Pete was good today and gave us a chance. Their starter, Knack, was excellent with 12 strikeouts and zero walks. You can't win if you don't score." – Rider Head Coach Barry Davis
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Soporowski scattered four hits and walked six batters. He struck out three hitters. On the season, he has allowed just one earned run in 11 innings of work as his ERA is now 0.82.
- Freshman Matt Hartshorn made his second career relief appearance for the Broncs. He worked two and third innings and allowed two earned runs. After walking the first batter in the seventh, he struck out the side.
- The Broncs had a season-low three hits.
- Both Sebastian Williamson and Jake Barbiere went 1-for-3 each with singles.
- Freshman John Volpe had a pinch-hit single in the ninth.
- At the plate, Rider struck out 14 times and did work one walk.
 
UP NEXT
Rider and ETSU continue a three-game set on Saturday, February 22, with a single, nine-inning contest that is slated to begin at 2:00 pm. Frank Doelling is schedule to get the start on the bump for the Broncs.