LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Ty Gilligan's (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the 12^th inning sent the Rider University baseball team home victorious, 4-3, after an instant classic Saturday afternoon. The Broncs now improve to 16-13 on the season and 4-1 in MAAC play with the victory. The Stags drop to 15-13 on the year and 6-2 in league play.
 
Both pitchers were in control early. Fairfield's Bryson Cafaro carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before the Broncs broke through with a one-out single from Luke Lesch (Gloucester Township, NJ/Gloucester Catholic). Rider would load the bases with two outs, and Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South[UMass]) made solid contact, but it was a line drive right at the Stags shortstop, who made the catch to end the inning.
 
Meanwhile Frank Doelling (Riverside, NJ/Riverside[Rowan College at Burlington County]) was equally impressive for the Broncs. A leadoff single in the third was the only base runner allowed by the senior until a two-out walk in the sixth. Doelling quickly wiped out the runner, picking him off first to end the inning.
 
Jake Barbiere (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) led off the sixth by drawing a walk that would end Cafaro's day. Following a sacrifice bunt by Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional), John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall) drove home the run with an RBI single to put Rider in front.
 
Doelling allowed a leadoff walk in the seventh, and after a ground out advanced the runner to second, the Broncs turned to Cal Stalzer (West Des Moines, IA/Valley[Kirkwood CC/George Washington]) to get the remaining eight outs. A wild pitch advanced the runner to third, Winsett made a diving play on a hard hit grounder down the line and the runner on third had no choice but to break for the plate. Winsett gunned down the runner and Stalzer retired the next batter to escape the trouble.
 
In the eighth, the Broncs would not be so lucky. It took just one swing of the bat by Matt Bergevin to lift a fly ball just over the left field fence and tie the game.
 
With two outs in the ninth, Rider got back-to-back hits by Lesch and Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood), but the Stags induced a fly ball to send us to extra innings.
 
In the 10^th, Bergevin got into another pitch and appeared to have his second home run of the day, but Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) made a leaping catch at the wall to rob the home run and end the inning.
 
Fairfield used the long ball again in the 11^th to take the lead. Following a two-out walk, Ryan Strollo hit his third home run in the series, putting the Stags on top 3-1.
 
Once again, Rider battled back. Winsett led off the bottom of the 11^th with a base hit to left. Volpe followed with a hit down the line in right to put runners on the corners. Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional) delivered an RBI-single to left that closed the gap to just one. After Lesch was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Richie Sica (Wycoff, NJ/Ramapo) came on to run for Bardatsos at second. Skettini ripped a line drive into right center, but it was close enough to the Fairfield second baseman, that Sica was forced to delay a second before taking off for third, as the Broncs would tie the game, but the winning run remained 90 feet away. The Stags turned to the pen and brought in Jason Hebner. Hebner induced a pop up, then a sharp ground ball to third that the Stags were able to make the force at home, before another ground ball got Fairfield out of the bases-loaded no out jam.
 
The performance only delayed the Broncs celebration. Barbiere led off the 12^th with a walk, then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Winsett. The Stags intentionally walked Volpe to get to Gilligan, who entered the game at catcher after Bardatsos was pulled for the pinch runner. Gilligan delivered the game-winner, launching a 2-2 pitch to the gap in right center for the walk-off double.
 
Quotes & Notes
"It was good ballgame. It was well pitched, there were no errors, walks were kept to a minimum. They had two big home runs, but we were able to battle back."
 
"Big win, big bounce back. Frank has struggled a little bit this year, but this was his best outing of the year. We needed that today."
 
"Ty is a good hitter. Swinging the bat, he doesn't have a weakness, and the moment didn't get to him. It's a big confidence booster." – Head Coach Dr. Barry Davis
 
- Doelling had his best outing of the season, throwing 6.1 innings allowing just a single hit and walking two, while striking out seven. He faced just two batters over the minimum during his time on the mound.
- Stalzer tossed 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits, striking out a pair.
- Dylan Heine (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) threw the final 1.1 innings to earn the victory. He did not allow a run and struck out one, while allowing one hit.
- Rider improves to 2-1 this season in extra-inning games.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Seven Broncs recorded hits in the contest, led by a pair from Volpe, Lesch, and Skettini.
- Volpe extends his hitting streak to 11 games, matching Lesch's team high this season. He improves his average to a team-high .302 for the season.
- Rider pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts in the game.
 
Up Next
- The Broncs and Stags play the rubber game at Sonny Pittaro field on Sunday at noon.