Baseball
Friday-Sunday, April 14-16, 2023
Rider Broncs (22-10, 7-2 MAAC) vs. Canisius Golden Griffins (12-15, 6-0 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Sonny Pittaro Field)/Trenton, NJ (Trenton Thunder Ballpark)
First Pitch: 3:00 PM/2:00 PM/12:00 PM
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
 
 
What You Need To Know
- Both Friday and Sunday's contests will take place at Sonny Pittaro Field with Saturday's game taking place at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.

- Tickets for Saturday are available HERE. Adult tickets are $10 while student/youth are $5. There are a multitude of promotions planned for Saturday's matinee. Head coach Barry Davis will be honored for his 1,000th win pregame.
 
- 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 22-10 and have won seven of eight weekend series this season. The Broncs took two of three from Siena over the past weekend before dropping a back-and-forth, 7-6, game against NJIT on Tuesday. Jack Winsett (Voorhees,NJ/Eastern) became the fifth Bronc this season to reach the 100-hit milestone with a single in the contest.
 
- 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). 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 Winsett 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 in 2021 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 1.67 ERA and leads the MAAC, ranking third nationally, with eight saves in 27.0 innings so far this season. He leads the team with 36 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 .314 average and is second on the team with 29 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 .302 average and 29 RBIs.
 
- The Broncs' defense has been among the country's best this season, ranking third in the country in double plays turned and 33^rd nationally in fielding percentage. The Broncs' 4.11 ERA is 29^th nationally.
 
- The Golden Griffins are 12-15 and coming off a double-header sweep of St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. Canisius is the last remaining unbeaten team in MAAC play at 6-0 after three-game sweeps of Mount St. Mary's and Iona.
 
- Behind Matt Duffy, the Golden Griffins rank 23^rd nationally in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.5. Individually, Duffy ranks 29^th in the country at 12.71 strikeouts per nine innings. Duffy is scheduled to start Friday against Heine. Heine currently leads the MAAC with his 3.20 ERA.
 
- Saturday's pitching matchup is Doelling against Chris Pouliot. Pouliot is 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in three starts this season. He had his longest outing of the season last Friday against Morehead State, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing five runs.
 
- The series finale will feature Young against Tom Peltier. Peltier is 1-3 with a 5.33 ERA in eight appearances, including six starts. Against Iona, Peltier tossed four innings, allowing one unearned run and struck out 10.
 
- Offensively, Canisius is led by Dylan Vincent, who leads the team with a .363 average and six home runs. Preseason MAAC Player of the Year, Max Grant, leads the Golden Griffins with 26 runs.