LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Five different Broncs had three hits apiece and the Rider University softball team got a pair of complete-game efforts in the circle to sweep Morgan State, 9-1 (6 innings) and 5-2, Tuesday afternoon at Herb & Joan Young Field. With the wins, the Broncs (8-22) snap a nine-game losing skid, while the Bears fall to 20-15 after entering the game winners of 11 of their prior 13 contests.
In Game 1, the Broncs loaded the bases with three infield singles in the bottom of the first from
Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View),
Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) and
Julia Harsche (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph-by-the-Sea), with all three coming around to score on a throwing error on Harsche's bunt single. The lead stretched to 4-0 on a solo home run from Harsche in the third, before Rider added three more in the fifth on a three-run bomb from
Jadeyn Merrill (Lamesa, TX/Lamesa). After Morgan State scratched across its first run of the game on a squeeze play in the top of the sixth, Rider got four-straight one-out singles in the bottom of the frame from
Kristyn Gardner (Perryville, MD/Perryville),
Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent),
Maddie Luedtke (Gibbstown, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology) and Niegocki, with the mercy rule being activated on Niegocki's RBI single.
Singles from
Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) and
Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) and a dropped catch at first on a Luedtke sacrifice bunt gave Rider its first run of Game 2 in the bottom of the second. Two more runs scored on a Koonce single to make it 3-0 Rider after two. Morgan State got a run back in the top of the fourth on a two-out RBI double from Madison Bolyea. The Broncs added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run home run from Burroughs to go up, 5-1. The Bears got a run back in the top of the seventh on a pair of hits and a throwing error, but
Kathryn Schmierer (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) limited the damage to one to close out the complete-game victory and the sweep.
Quotes & Notes
"I liked how we leveraged the small ball and the long ball to score runs and combined it with two great pitching performances. We put a lot of things together today and have given ourselves some momentum to carry us into the weekend." -
Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega
- Niegocki earned the Game 1 win in the circle, limiting the Bears to one earned run on three hits and a walk in the full 6.0 innings. She struck out a career-high 13 batters, easily eclipsing her previous career high of 10, accomplished twice last season.
- Schmierer limited Morgan State to two runs, one earned, on five hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Game 2. She struck out six.
- The Broncs had lost nine straight games entering the game, all by two runs or less. Dating back to March 4, 14 of the Broncs' last 17 losses have come by two runs or less.
Broncs by the Numbers
- Luedtke, Burroughs, Merrill, Koonce and Niegocki each had three hits on the day.
- Luedtke and Burroughs scored twice each, as did Harsche and Epps.
- Merrill drove in three runs, all on her team-leading third home run of the season.
- Burroughs also hit a two-run home run, her second round tripper of the year.
- Harsche's solo shot in Game 1 was the first of her collegiate career. She had two hits on the day.
- Koonce drove in two and scored a run.
- Luedtke also stole a base.
- Niegocki scored a run and drove in one on the Game 1 walk-off RBI single.
- Gardner, Wright and Epps had one hit each. All three scored at least one run, with Epps crossing home plate twice.
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Chelsea Weatherford (Wixom, MI/White Lake Lakeland) also scored a run as a pinch runner in Game 2.
Up Next
The Broncs return to action Thursday, when they play host to Garden State foe Monmouth for a single game. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. from Herb & Joan Young Field.
