February 24-26, 2023
2023 Campbell Camel Stampede
Rider Broncs (0-0, 0-0 MAAC)  
Location: Buies Creek, NC – Amanda Littlejohn Stadium
Live Stats – GoCamels.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

What You Need To Know
- The Rider Softball team opens 2023 at the Campbell Camel Stampede. The Broncs are scheduled to play Ohio University (9 a.m.) and nationally-ranked No. 14 Duke (11:30 a.m.) on Friday, Wagner (9 a.m.) and Campbell (11:30 a.m.) on Saturday and a second meeting with the Seahawks wraps up the tournament with a 10 a.m. Sunday first pitch.
- The Broncs were picked seventh in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll. In Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega's tenure, the Broncs have never finished below their projected spot in the standings, but finished higher than the league's coaches expectations in three of four seasons in which the year was completed (no conference games were completed in 2020 due to COVID-19). Most recently, the league's coaches tabbed the Broncs eighth last year, with Rider finishing fourth, the largest disparity between projection and results in Ortega's time in Lawrenceville.
- Junior utility Jessie Niegocki was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team. Niegocki was named to Extra Innings Softball's Top Two-Way Players List after breaking out in her sophomore campaign, hitting .359 with 34 runs scored to go along with six doubles, 16 RBI's and a team-leading .419 on-base percentage. She was also arguably the Broncs' best pitcher, posting a team-leading 2.09 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 100.1 innings pitched. She pitched the first Rider no-hitter in nearly 10 years on April 2 against Fairfield and had three complete-game shutouts on the year. Her 66 hits ranked 68th in the nation last year, while her 8.9 strikeouts per seven innings pitched ranked 41st nationally.
- Niegocki enters the season 12 hits shy of 100 for her Rider career.
- The Broncs are led by sixth-year Head Coach Davon Ortega. Rider's 28 wins in 2022 eclipsed the most in Ortega's five-year tenure at Rider by an 11-win margin (17, 2018, 2021). Following a 15-year absence, Ortega has led the Broncs to back-to-back MAAC Tournament appearances.
- Rider's 28 wins were the team's most since 2004, when the Broncs matched the program record of 35 wins (1994).
- Rider finished 2022 with a .500 winning percentage or better in league play for the first time since 2010 (8-8). The Broncs finished above .500 in league play for the first time since 2006 (10-6) and just the fourth time in the program's 26 years in the MAAC.
- Rider led the MAAC in batting average (.294, 45^th in Division I) and earned run average (2.45, 37^th in D1) in 2022.
- The Broncs return six of nine starters to the line-up and their three top pitchers from a year ago.