UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Rider University softball team fell in a pair of close games Sunday afternoon at the Penn State Softball Invitational, first falling to UMass Lowell, 4-2, before host Penn State edged the Broncs, 2-1 in eight innings. With the losses, the Broncs even their record at 9-9, while the River Hawks are now 12-8 and the Nittany Lions are 16-11.

UMass Lowell struck first with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings on a pair of solo home runs. The Broncs evened the score in the bottom of the fifth, as Grace Stansfield's (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter) double scored Amanda Cooper (Huntsville, TX/Huntsville), before Stansfield scored the tying run on a Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) RBI single. But a Broncs error to lead off the top of the seventh led to two unearned runs and UMass Lowell held on for the 4-2 victory.

Against Penn State, the Nittany Lions got a solo home run in the first to build an early lead. The Broncs evened the score in the fourth, piecing together an Alyssa Ansara (Waterville, OH/Anthony Wayne) single, a Stansfield walk, a Lani Moreno (Claremont, CA/Claremont) hit-by-pitch and a bases-loaded walk from Elena Gonzalez (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) to plate the first Rider run.

After giving up the first-inning solo shot, Rider starting pitcher Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) settled in and didn't allow another earned run. After the Broncs couldn't score in the top of the eighth with the international tiebreaker in play, Groskritz managed to get two outs, but Penn State walked off on Lexie Black's two-out RBI single, tagging Groskritz with an unearned run and the loss.

Notes
- Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) went the distance in the circle in the UMass Lowell game. She allowed four runs, two earned, on seven hits and five walks in 7.0 innings pitched. She struck out a career-high nine batters for the second time in less than a week (March 14 at East Carolina).
- Against Penn State, Groskritz allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits, a walk and three hit-by-pitches in 7.2 innings pitched. She struck out four.  
- The Broncs are scheduled to return to action Wednesday, when they play their home openers in a doubleheader against Wagner. First pitch from Herb & Joan Young Field is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The twinbill kicks off a 14-game, seven-date homestand that runs between Wednesday, March 23 and Sunday, April 10.  

Broncs by the Numbers
- Wright led the Broncs offensively with three hits on the day, including a double and an RBI.
- Cooper added a pair of hits, a walk and two runs scored.
- Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) also collected two hits, including a double.
- Stansfield reached safely three times with a double, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. She also drove in a run and scored a run.
- Moreno reached safely twice with a single and a hit-by-pitch.
- Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown), Ansara and Niegocki also added a hit each, with Niegocki's going for a double.
- Gonzalez's bases-loaded walk accounted for an RBI.
- Rider pitchers accounted for a 1.43 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 14.2 innings on the day.