PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Rider University baseball team claimed the Liberty Bell Championship Tuesday evening, defeating Delaware, 8-3, at Citizens Bank Park. The Broncs improve to 25-11 on the season, while the Blue Hens fall to 20-17.
 
Rider got out to an early lead. Scott Shaw (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) and Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional) hit back-to-back singles with one out in the first. Both runners would come in to score when Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) hit a double to the gap in right center. With two outs, Brendan O'Donnell hit a double that bounced to the fence in left that drove in Skettini and extended the lead to 3-0.
 
 Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) opened the second with a single. With two outs, Shaw drew a walk before Bardatsos singled back up the middle to extend the advantage to 4-0.
 
In the fourth, Delaware loaded the bases with just one out, but the Broncs got out of the inning allowing just a single run.
 
The score remained 4-1 into the eighth. Luke Lesch (Gloucester Twp., NJ/Gloucester Catholic) led off the inning with a double. After Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) was hit by a pitch, both runners advanced 90 feet on an error. Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South[UMass]) then hit a sacrifice fly to score Lesch.
 
Rider added insurance runs in the ninth. John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall) led off the inning with a triple. Shaw then dumped a single over the drawn in infield to score Volpe. Bardatsos followed a single to right. Two batters later, Lesch hit another opposite field double, bringing home Shaw. Bardatsos scored on a wild pitch and Rider went into the bottom of the ninth leading 8-1.
 
Delaware scored twice in the ninth, but Broncs secured the victory.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We got out to a good start. Scott got a base hit, then Socrates gets the first-pitch single, and then Skettini gets the double to the gap. For nine innings we played pretty good baseball."
 
"PJ was important. He saw there in the fourth inning, he sort of lost it there in the fourth inning a little bit, but he pitched out of it."
 
"It helps when you get that early lead. Our pitcher can go out and make a mistake here and there, and it proved that it happened tonight too." – Head Coach Dr. Barry Davis
 
"I just focus on the hitter. Because they're down runs, they're going to be less aggressive on the base paths. Slider and cutter have been big for me."
 
"It's huge. A lot of us are Phils fans, myself included. This is big, fun, and awesome. I was looking forward to it for weeks after we knew we'd be playing here." – Graduate Pitcher Danny Kirwin
 
- PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) got the start for the Broncs, going 5.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out six to earn the win.
- Clayton Poliey (Ringwood, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) was the first out of the pen, throwing two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.
- Alec Sachais threw 0.2 innings, allowing no runs on one hit. He struck out one.
- Danny Kirwin (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) fired the final 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on one hit. He struck out two to earn his MAAC-leading ninth save.
- This is Rider's second Liberty Bell Classic Championship in three finals appearances, topping Villanova, 6-2, in 2015, and falling, 5-3, to St. Joe's in 2016.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Seven different Broncs recorded hits on the day, led by four from Bardatsos.
- Five separate Broncs scored for Rider, led by Volpe, Shaw, and Bardatsos, who each scored twice.
 
Up Next
The Broncs return to play Wednesday with a non-conference game against Princeton at Sonny Pittaro Field.