GREENVILLE, NC – Lani Moreno (Claremont, CA/Claremont) went 5-for-7 with a home run and seven RBI's as the Rider University softball team split a pair of Purple-Gold Invitational games Sunday. The Broncs defeated Morehead State, 23-9, in five innings to open the day, before falling, 5-4, to host East Carolina to close out the day. With the split, the Broncs move to 7-6, while the Eagles are now 0-15 and the Pirates are 11-10.

After Morehead State struck first for a run in the top of the first, the Broncs countered with six runs on six hits and an error in the bottom of the frame. Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) contributed an RBI triple, while Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) had a two-run single and Wright drove in a run with a single. A Broncs error with two outs in the top of the second prolonged the inning and allowed the Eagles to even the score at 6-6 with five unearned runs. But Rider responded with four runs in the bottom of the second to retake a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Grace Stansfield (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter) drove in the first run with an infield single, before Burroughs' fielder's choice plated another. Moreno followed with an RBI double and Wright scored on a Kaitlin Vazquez (Howell, NJ/Monsignor Donovan [Brookdale C.C.]) groundout to make it 10-6.

A two-out triple and a single gave MSU a run in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 10-7. But Rider erupted for 13 runs on eight hits, five walks and a hit-by-pitch, taking a 23-7 lead after three innings. Highlights on the inning were Wright's two-run triple and RBI singles from Moreno, Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View), Stansfield, Burroughs, Wright and Moreno. The Eagles got a two-run single in the top of the fifth, but it wasn't enough to prolong the game, ending in a 23-9 mercy-rule-shortened contest after five innings.

Against East Carolina, the Pirates struck for three runs on four hits in the bottom of the first and extended to a 5-0 lead with two more runs in the third on a hit, a walk, an error and a delayed double steal. Rider got three runs back in the top of the fourth, as Elena Gonzalez (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) led off with a single and Wright walked to set the table for a three-run blast over the right-field wall from Moreno, cutting the deficit to 5-3. The Broncs drew to within a run in the seventh after Chaela Crowder (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) led off with a single and pinch runner Brooklyn Trujillo-Quintana (Henderson, CO/Prairie View) moved to second on a groundout and scored on Niegocki's chopper up the middle. But ECU got a pair of diving catches in the outfield to close out the victory.
 
Notes
- Kathryn Schmierer (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) started the Morehead State game and took a no decision. She allowed six runs, but just one earned, on six hits without walking a batter in 1.2 innings pitched. She struck out one.
- Trujillo-Quintana pitched the final 3.1 innings to pick up the win against the Eagles. She allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out four.
- Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) went the distance against East Carolina, taking the loss after allowing five runs, three earned, on nine hits and two walks. She struck out four.
- The Broncs close out Purple-Gold Invitational action Monday, when they face East Carolina at 11 a.m.   

Broncs by the Numbers
- The Broncs' 23 runs against Morehead State are their most since scoring 24 against Coppin State on March 3, 2018.
- Wright finished the day with a 4-for-6 effort at the plate with a triple, a walk, five runs scored and four RBI's.
- Stansfield also contributed four hits, going 4-for-7 with three runs scored and three RBI's.
- Crowder played in only the ECU game, going 2-for-3.
- Burroughs only played in the Morehead State game, going 2-for-4 with a triple, three runs scored and four RBI's.
- Gonzalez collected three hits and two walks, going 3-for-7 with a double and five runs scored.
- Niegocki had three hits, two RBI's and a run scored.
- Epps went 2-for-5 with two RBI's.
- Amanda Cooper (Huntsville, TX/Huntsville) also had two hits and four runs scored.  
- Vazquez went 1-for-2 with a single, a hit-by-pitch, an RBI and two runs scored.