LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Debra Jones (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) hurled a complete-game shutout in Game 1 as the Rider University softball team split with Niagara in a Saturday doubleheader to move to 6-2. The Broncs took Game 1, 2-0, before falling in Game 2, 6-1.  

The Broncs scored first in Game 1 with two runs with two out in the bottom of the fourth. Kaitlin Vazquez (Howell, NJ/Donovan Catholic) was hit by a pitch and Melanie Wilkinson's (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South) walk put runners on first and second before Niagara turned to relief pitcher Karsen Cotton. But Kelsey Marigliano (Seaford, NY/Plainledge) greeted Cotton with a single up the middle, scoring Vazquez from second. Chaela Crowder (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) followed with a pinch-hit single off the left-field fence to push Wilkinson across and make it a 2-0 Rider lead after four.

Niagara would threaten in the seventh, putting the tying run on second with two out. But Jones induced a foul pop to first to end the game.

In Game 2, the two teams traded single runs in the first inning. Marigliano tripled in the bottom of the first. With runners on first and third, Niagara threw down to second on a stolen base attempt and the ball evaded the second baseman, allowing Marigliano to trot home and tie the game at 1-1.

Niagara added a run in the second and another in the fourth, both on Maggie Vesneske RBI base hits, and later added two unearned runs on a Shayna Myshrall double in the sixth after an error prolonged the inning. A Maggie Kellner RBI triple in the seventh made it 6-1 Niagara and the Rider offense didn't have the answer.  

Quotes & Notes
"We lost our grit today and as a team we were flat all day. Our bats never really woke up and defensively we weren't making routine plays or focusing on what we practice everyday. Deb did a great job to keep us in game one and I'm happy to get a split but we have a lot of work to do this week to bounce back." - Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega

- The Game 1 win extended the Broncs' winning streak to six games. The last time Rider won as many as six-straight games was the 2006 season, when the Broncs won eight-straight with doubleheader sweeps of Iona (April 27), Saint Peter's (April 29), Siena (April 30) and Fairfield (May 2).
- Rider's 6-1 start in MAAC play is the best in program history.  
- Jones earned her third win of the year, going 7.0 scoreless innings in Game 1, scattering five hits and two walks, while striking out six. She came on in relief in Game 2 and stranded runners at second and third with one out. She went 3.0 innings of relief, allowing three runs, but just one earned, on five hits, while striking out two.
- Jackie Cal (Castle Rock, CO/Regis Jesuit) got the Game 2 start in the circle and took the loss. She allowed two earned runs on seven hits and a walk in 2.2 innings pitched.
- Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) recorded the final two outs in relief in Game 2, striking out a batter and not allowing a batter to reach base.
- The Broncs return to action Friday, when they begin a four-game series at Siena. First pitch from Loudonville, NY, on Friday and Saturday is scheduled for noon.    
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Alyssa Ansara (Waterville, OH/Anthony Wayne) led the Rider offense with a 4-for-6 effort at the plate, including a 3-for-3 Game 1. She also stole a base.
- Caitlyn Danovich (Simi Valley, CA/Agoura) got the Game 2 start at first base and went 2-for-2 with a double and a walk.
- Moreno and Marigliano added two hits apiece.
- Crowder and Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) also added one hit each.
- Marigliano, Vazquez and Wilkinson scored Rider's three runs.
- Marigliano and Crowder had Rider's lone RBI's on the day.