LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) finished the day with four hits, but the Rider University softball team was swept in a Saturday doubleheader by Fairfield. The losses drop the Broncs to 8-6, while the Stags are now 10-6.  

In Game 1, Fairfield plated a run in the top of the first on three hits and a sacrifice bunt. Rider kept the Stags off the scoreboard in the second thanks to a flyout double play to right, with freshman Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) delivering a strike on the fly to the plate to erase a would-be run.

The Broncs loaded the bases and tied the game on Elena Gonzalez's (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) RBI bloop single to shallow left field, scoring Kennedy Jarrard (Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad). But Fairfield responded with two runs in the fifth on four-straight two-out singles and added another two-out RBI single in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead. The Broncs put the tying run on in the seventh on a Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) single and walks from Janae Weise (Simi Valley, CA/Sierra Canyon) and Kelsey Marigliano (Seaford, NY/Plainledge). But Fairfield limited the Broncs to one run on Gonzalez's bloop single and closed out the 4-2 victory.

Fairfield again scored first in Game 1, taking advantage of a ball that got away from the Broncs' first baseman following a bunt single, allowing a run to score from second on the play. The Rider defense faltered again in a four-run Fairfield third. Just one of the runs was earned on four hits and one error.

Rider whittled away with two runs in the fifth and another in the six to cut the deficit to 5-3. Caitlyn Danovich (Simi Valley, CA/Agoura) scored on a wild pitch before Gonzalez doubled home Marigliano to make it 5-2 after five. Marigliano then singled home Wright, who'd singled to start the sixth. But Fairfield worked out of the frame and retired the Broncs 1-2-3 in the seventh to secure the victory.  

Quotes & Notes
"The only thing we were today is flat. We made way too many mental mistakes and we weren't aggressive at the bat like we have been the previous weekends. Hopefully we can reset tomorrow and make some routine plays to give ourselves a chance." - Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega

- Debra Jones (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) went the distance in Game 1, allowing four runs, three earned, on 12 hits without walking a batter in 7.0 innings pitched. She struck out four.
- Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) started Game 2 and took the loss. She allowed five runs, but just one earned, on six hits and a walk in 2.2 innings pitched. She struck out four.  
- Jackie Cal (Castle Rock, CO/Regis Jesuit) finished Game 2 with 4.1 innings of scoreless relief, limiting the Stags to three hits without walking a batter. She struck out three.
- The Broncs and Stags complete their four-game set with a Sunday doubleheader, slated for noon.      
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Koonce had a team-high four hits on the day, including a 3-for-3 effort in Game 2. She also scored a run.
- Marigliano and Gonzalez had three hits apiece, with Marigliano scoring a run and driving in one, while Gonzalez doubled and drove in two.
- Danovich, Chaela Crowder (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) and Alyssa Ansara (Waterville, OH/Anthony Wayne) chipped in with two hits apiece. Ansara also stole a base.
- Jarrard and Wright each singled and scored a run.