Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Rider Broncs (27-22-1, 10-8 MAAC) vs. Monmouth Hawks (8-37, 3-13 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb & Joan Young Field
First Pitch: 12 p.m.
Watch Live – ESPN+ (Game 1) (Game 2)
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

What You Need To Know
- The Rider Softball team plays host to Garden State MAAC foe Monmouth for a regular-season-ending doubleheader.
- The Broncs can earn their first-ever six-team-field MAAC Championship berth with one win Wednesday. The win would clinch at least an 11-9 record, clinching a Top 6 finish in the MAAC, while the Broncs have favorable results against the other teams that could enter into that tiebreaker scenario – Iona (1-1), Marist (2-0), Niagara (2-0).   
- Rider's 27 wins are the team's most since 2004, when the Broncs matched the program record of 35 wins (1994).
- Rider has clinched finishing with a .500 winning percentage or better in league play for the first time since 2010 (8-8). With the win, the Broncs would finish above .500 for the first time since 2006 (10-6) and just the fourth time in the program's 26 years in the MAAC.
- The Broncs are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Marist in which they trailed both games heading to the sixth inning or later.
- The Broncs had a season-long seven-game winning streak in their first seven home games of the season, March 22 – April 4. Rider is 11-3 at home this season, including a 6-2 mark in MAAC contests at Herb & Joan Young Field.
- Jessie Niegocki threw the first Rider no hitter in nearly 10 years on Apr. 2 vs. Fairfield. The five-inning no-no was the first since Rachael Matreale also threw a five-inning no-hitter on Apr. 7, 2012, against Saint Peter's. Niegocki's no hitter was the 15^th in Rider Softball history.
- For her effort, Niegocki was named MAAC Pitcher of the Week, joining teammate Anna-Marie Groskritz (Mar. 22) in earning the honor this season.  
- Rider's 27 wins eclipse the most in Davon Ortega's five-year tenure at Rider by a 10-win margin (17, 2018, 2021).
- On March 11 vs. Bryant, Lani Moreno got her 100^th career hit and now has 129. Grace Stansfield picked up her 100^th hit on Senior Day, Apr. 10 against Niagara, and now has 117. Elena Gonzalez is also chasing 100, currently standing on 90.
- With a .295 team batting average, the Broncs rank 52^nd in the nation and first in the MAAC.
- Elena Gonzalez has been an effective backstop for the Broncs, throwing out 13 attempted base stealers this season, good for 23^rd in the nation.  
- As a pitcher, Jessie Niegocki's 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings rank 57^th, while her 2.08 ERA ranks 94^th nationally.
- At the plate, Niegocki's team-leading 63 hits are 63^rd nationally and second in the MAAC.
- The Rider pitching staff's collective 2.48 earned run average ranks 52^nd nationally.  
- Rider leads the all-time series with Monmouth, 33-31. The teams have split the last three doubleheaders and four of the last five.
- The Broncs were picked to finish eighth in the MAAC Preseason Poll.
- Elena Gonzalez and Lani Moreno were picked to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
- Gonzalez earned All-Region First Team honors last season, becoming the Broncs' first All-Region selection since 2004, when three Broncs – Heather Beintema, Amanda Tu (both First Team) and Maddy Boulden (Second Team) – earned the honor.
- Gonzalez and Moreno were each named to the All-MAAC First Team a year ago, again setting a first since 2004, as the duo was the first pair of Rider teammates to earn the honor. Courtney Weed, Amanda Tu and Heather Beintema each earned the honor in 2004.
- In an expanded eight-team field last year, Rider was made its first MAAC Championship appearance since 2006 and just the fourth for the program in 24 years in the league. Seventh-seeded Rider won its first game of a three-game series at second-seeded Canisius and pushed the Griffs to the brink, leading 5-1 after four innings in the decisive third game, before falling, 7-5.
- The Broncs are led by fifth-year Head Coach Davon Ortega. At 17-20 (.459) last season, Rider posted its best overall winning percentage since 2006 (24-28, .461) under Ortega's tutelage.