GREENVILLE, NC – Grace Stansfield (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter) went 5-for-7 with three RBI's and Elena Gonzalez (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) added a 4-for-9 performance with a home run and six RBI's as the Rider University softball team split a pair of games at the Purple-Gold Invitational, hosted by East Carolina, Friday. The Broncs began the day with an 8-3 victory over Bryant, before falling to the host Pirates, 10-9, in eight innings. With the split, the Broncs move to 6-5, while the Bulldogs are now 0-8 and East Carolina is 9-10.

Gonzalez got the scoring started for the Broncs with a two-run double in the bottom of the first vs. Bryant. After the Bulldogs got a run back on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second, Stansfield doubled home a run in the bottom of the third to push the advantage back to 3-1. Each team plated a run in the fourth, with Stansfield's RBI single up the middle to score Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) accounting for the Broncs' run and a 4-2 lead. Rider blew the game open with a four-run bottom of the fifth. Niegocki, Amanda Cooper (Huntsville, TX/Huntsville), Gonzalez and Stansfield each contributed RBI singles in the frame. Bryant would score a single run in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough as the Broncs closed out the 8-3 win.

Against ECU, the Broncs erupted for a five-run top of the first. Gonzalez blasted a three-run home run and two more runs scored on an error later in the inning. But the Pirates responded with four runs on three hits, two walks, a wild pitch and a passed back in the bottom of the first, leaving the score at 5-4 Rider after one.

A two-out walk and a pair of RBI base hits for ECU made it 6-5 Pirates after three. An error to lead off the bottom of the fourth bit the Broncs for two unearned runs, as East Carolina cashed in with a run-scoring double and, after the Broncs recorded the second out, the Pirates executed a steal of home with runners on first and third, sacrificing the out between first and second to get the run in. Trailing 8-5, the Broncs pulled back ahead with a four-run top of the fifth. Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) got the scoring started with a two-run double before Niegocki's bases-loaded infield single knotted the game at 8-8 and Cooper's sacrifice fly pushed Rider back in front, 9-8. But a one-out triple in the bottom of the seventh, followed by an infield single evened the score and sent the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, with the international tiebreaker in effect and a runner placed on second, the Broncs sacrificed the runner to third, before the Pirates cut down the run at home on a fielder's choice for the second out and the Broncs went scoreless in the frame. On the other side, ECU also sacrificed and then got a groundout to score the run and end the game with a 10-9 Pirates victory.
 
Notes
- Kathryn Schmierer (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) took both decisions on the day. She started the Bryant game and went the distance, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out four. She then came on in relief and took the loss against ECU. She allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits without walking a batter in 3.1 innings pitched.
- Brooklyn Trujillo-Quintana (Henderson, CO/Prairie View) started the East Carolina game, but recorded just one out, allowing four runs, three earned, on three hits and two walks.
- Niegocki also pitched 4.0 innings of relief against the Pirates, allowing four runs, two earned, on four hits and four walks, while striking out six.  
- The Broncs return to Purple-Gold Invitational action Saturday, when they face Bryant at 1:30 p.m.   

Broncs by the Numbers
- Stansfield went 5-for-7, reaching safely seven times with a pair of walks. She doubled, drove in three and scored twice.
- Gonzalez went 4-for-9 with a double, a home run, six RBI's and two runs scored.
- Niegocki matched Gonzalez's team-high five hits, going 5-for-10 with four runs scored and two RBI's.
- Cooper went 4-for-7 with three runs scored and two RBI's.
- Lani Moreno (Claremont, CA/Claremont) chipped in with three hits, a run scored and an RBI.
- Wright had two hits, including a double, two runs scored and two RBI's.
- Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) went 2-for-2 on the day.
- Kaitlin Vazquez (Howell, NJ/Donovan Catholic [Brookdale C.C.]) and Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) also had one hit each. Epps also scored a run.
- Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) walked and scored twice.