LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University Baseball team extended its winning streak to five games, and has now won eight of its last nine, after defeating St. John's 13-3 Friday afternoon. The Broncs improve to 14-10 on the season, while the Red Storm fall to 10-16.
 
The Red Storm opened the scoring in the top of the first, cashing in on a two-out double to go up 1-0.
 
Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional) led off the second with a blast over the fence in right. Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) followed with a double. After tagging and advancing on a fly out, Skettini came in to score on a balk, giving the Broncs the lead. Alex Diamantis (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's Boys) continued the inning with a two-out walk. Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South[UMass]) singled to center and the center fielder overran the ball, allowing Diamantis to score from first. Erbe then came home to score on a base hit by Jake Barbiere (Randolph, NJ/Randolph), putting Rider up 4-1.
 
The Red Storm plated two in the third, using back-to-back singles to set up a two-run double. At that point, Rider took control.
 
John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall) and Bardatsos led off the third with back-to-back walks. After Skettini was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Diamantis drew a two-out walk. Erbe delivered again, with a two-run single that had Rider ahead 7-3.
 
In the fifth, Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) opened the inning with a soft chopper that turned into an infield hit. Winsett and Volpe then executed a perfect hit-and-run as Volpe punched a hit through the abandoned right side of the infield. The Broncs took advantage of an error to score Winsett, then Skettini hit a gap-shot double to right center, but the Broncs up 9-3. Two batters later, Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) hit a three-run homer over the wall in right center, hitting the pitch 392 feet.
 
Erbe drove home another run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly, scoring O'Donnell to produce the final score.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We just put good at bats together. One of the big turning points was Erbe's single to center and Diamantis coming around to score from first. We still did some good things today. Overall, Papeo battled and we gave him the runs he needed."
 
"Early we fell behind in the count, but 13 strikeouts is always a good thing. It's one of those games where we had some guys really step up. We made their pitchers work, and got guys on base."
 
"It's a good feeling to beat a team the caliber of St. John's and now we need to turn around for that seven-inning game tomorrow." – Head Coach Dr. Barry Davis
 
- Joe Papeo (Matawan, NJ/Old Bridge) fought through five innings to earn the win, improving to 3-2 on the season. He allowed three runs on five hits, but struck out seven.
- Danny Kirwin (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) was dominant in three scoreless innings of work out of the pen, allowing just one hit and striking out six.
- Brian Young (Neptune, NJ/Communication) recorded the final inning for the Broncs, allowing a pair of base runners before ending the game by inducing a double play.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Seven Broncs recorded hits in the game, led by a pair from Barbiere, Winsett, Skettini, and Erbe.
- Erbe has now recorded a hit in seven-straight games. Volpe and Winsett both extended their hitting streaks to six.
- Skettini's home run is his third of the season.
- O'Donnell has eight home runs this year.
 
Up Next
- The Broncs will take on the Red Storm in games two and three of the series tomorrow with a double header beginning at noon.