Baseball
Tuesday, April 10, 2023
Rider Broncs (22-9, 7-2 MAAC) vs. NJIT Highlanders (9-19, 4-5 A-EAST)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Sonny Pittaro Field)
First Pitch: 3:00 PM
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
 
 
What You Need To Know
- The Broncs entered the 2021 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.
 
- The Broncs are 22-9 and have won seven of eight weekend series this season. The Broncs took two of three from Siena over the past weekend. In the series finale, Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) hit two home runs, giving him 30 for his career, tying him with Sean Olson for fourth in program history. It was also the senior's 100^th career hit.
 
- Rider returns eight offensive starters from a season ago, led by O'Donnell, 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). 2021 MAAC Tournament MVP Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South[UMass]), 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.
 
- Doelling has led the rotation this season with a 5-1 record, pitching to a 3.32 ERA and team-high 36 strike outs in 40.2 innings. Heine is 3-1 with 3.20 ERA.
 
- 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 has stepped up into the closer role.
 
- Alec Sachais (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Holy Spirit) is off to a strong start on the mound, posting a 3-2 record with a 2.60 ERA in 14 appearances, including the win in Rider's victory over Oklahoma.
 
- Kirwin has a 1.73 ERA and leads the MAAC, ranking second nationally, with eight saves in 26.0 innings so far this season. He is third on the team with 34 strikeouts, including tying a career-high with six against Oklahoma. Kirwin also has four wins this season.
 
- Skettini leads the Broncs this season with a .325 average and is third on the team with 28 RBIs. O'Donnell is second in the MAAC with a team-high 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. Winsett is second on the team with a .304 average and 29 RBIs.
 
- The Broncs' defense has been among the country's best this season, ranking fifth in the country in double plays turned and 44^th nationally in fielding percentage. The Broncs' 4.01 ERA is 23^rd nationally.
 
- The Highlanders are 9-19 overall on the season. Offensively, NJIT is led by Luke Longo, who is hitting .258 with a team-high seven home runs. Grant Vurpillat has a 3.57 ERA with three saves.
 
- Tuesday's starters will be PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) for the Broncs and Tyler Cirone for NJIT. Craig is 1-0 with a 5.87 ERA this season. He has 14 strike outs in 23.0 innings. Cirone is 0-1 with a 16.20 ERA this year. He has five strike outs in 8.1 innings this season.