JOHNSON CITY, TN – The Rider University baseball team suffered a pair of losses Friday, falling to East Tennessee State, 2-1 and 12-0. The Broncs fall to 6-7 on the season, while the Bucs improve to 9-3.
The Bucs got a solo home run from Cam Norgren to open the scoring in the fourth of game one. The Bucs would add an insurance run in the eighth that would prove vital.
Richie Sica (Wycoff, NJ/Ramapo) led off the ninth for the Broncs with a pinch-hit single. Two batters later,
Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional) drew a one-out walk followed by
John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall) getting hit by a pitch.
Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) scored Sica with an RBI fielder's choice, but a strike out ended the potential comeback.
ETSU got on the board early in game two, scoring one in the first, and adding four in the second. In the sixth, the Bucs exploded for seven runs to break the game wide open.
Quotes & Notes
"We competed in game one, and were a hit away from taking the lead.
Joe Papeo was outstanding, and he deserved a win."
"In game two we couldn't prevent the big inning. Two innings and 11 runs is hard to combat."
"We will regroup and get ready for Sunday."
– Head Coach Dr. Barry Davis
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Joe Papeo (Matawan, NJ/Old Bridge) got the start, and was the tough-luck loser, in game one, going 7.1 innings, allowing two hits and two runs while striking out six.
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Danny Kirwin (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) threw the final 0.2 innings out of the pen without allowing a run in the opener.
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Frank Doelling (Riverside, NJ/Riverside) started game two, taking the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits.
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Brian Young (Neptune, NJ/Communication) was the top Bronc out of the pen in game two, throwing two scoreless innings, while striking out five.
Broncs by the Numbers
- Sica hit pinch-hit singles in both games.
- Barbiere extend his hitting streak to six games in the opener before seeing it come to an end in game two.
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Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) had a pair of hits in game two and three hits on the day.
- The Broncs struck out 15 ETSU batters.
Up Next
- The Broncs continue the spring trip on Sunday at East Tennessee State with a single game against UNC-Asheville at 11 a.m.