Baseball
Friday, February 17, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.
Rider Broncs (0-0) vs. Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (0-0)
Location: Shelby, NC (Bills Masters Field at John Henry Stadium)
First Pitch: 4:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m.
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast – Friday/Saturday Game 1 - Game 2/Sunday
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
 
What You Need To Know
 
- The Broncs entered the 2022 MAAC Tournament as the five-seed before advancing to the MAAC Championship Game for a second consecutive year.
 
- Rider was picked to finish third in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
- Rider returns eight offensive starters from a season ago, led by Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley), a Second-Team All-MAAC selection and MAAC All-Tournament Team honoree in 2022 and 2023 Preseason All-American. O'Donnell was named to the Preseason All-MAAC team after hitting a Rider-record 20 home runs in 2022. Other Preseason All-MAAC returners are Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) and Luke Lesch (Gloucester Township, NJ/Gloucester Catholic). 2022 MAAC Tournament MVP Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South), Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional), Scott Shaw (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West), John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall), and Jack Winsett (Voorhees,NJ/Eastern) will also return to help round out the lineup.
 
- Bardatsos led the Broncs with a .294 average last season, and a .432 on base percentage, setting a new Rider mark with 44 walks. Lesch hit .275 with 11 home runs during the 2022 campaign. Volpe hit .281 and scored 41 runs for the Broncs a season ago. Winsett hit .277 with a strong glove at third base. Skettini hit .258, scoring 28 runs and driving in 27. Shaw battled through injuries, but hit .278 and scored 21 runs in 28 games. Erbe led the Broncs with 117 assists from the short stop position.
 
- The Broncs' rotation will be led by Preseason All-MAAC pitcher Frank Doelling (Riverside, NJ/Riverside). Doelling has struck out 143 batters in 145.1 innings in his three seasons with the Broncs and boasts a career ERA of 4.15. In the NCAA Tournament last season against Alabama, Doelling pitched six and a third innings, allowing just three hits and two runs.
 
- Dylan Heine (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) pitched to a 4.29 ERA a season ago, and struck out 17 in 21 innings. Brian Young (Neptune, NJ/Communication) struggled late last season, but had a strong showing over the summer in the Cape Cod league and is projected to be in the rotation to start the season.
 
- The bullpen will be led by Danny Kirwin (Lansdale, PA/North Penn), who went 3-2 with a 4.72 ERA and four saves a season ago. Kirwin struck out 54 in just 47.2 innings last season and is expected to slide into the closer role.
 
- The Broncs are 1-8 all-time against the Bulldogs, picking up their lone victory in the series with a 3-2 win in March of 2014. Most recently, the teams met for a four-game set in 2016.
 
- Friday's projected pitching matchup features Heine taking on Bobby Alcock. Alcock, a sophomore, went 0-2 in 2022, pitching just 13.0 innings, but producing a 2.08 ERA.
 
- Doelling will take the mound in Saturday's first game against Tyler Switalski. Switalski, also a sophomore, went 5-5 with a 4.12 ERA a season ago. He struck out just 48 batters in his 72.0 innings of work.
 
- The projected pitching matchup for Saturday's second game is freshman Chris Montone (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) against Luke Goodyear. Goodyear, a junior, went 1-0 with a 12.21 ERA out of the pen last season.
 
- Saturday's starters are projected to be Young against Jacob McCaskey. McCaskey, a transfer from California U of Pennsylvania, was a Division II All-American a season ago.