April 22, 2023
Rider Broncs (12-22, 2-4 MAAC) vs. Marist Red Foxes (19-22, 6-2 MAAC)
Time: 12 p.m.  
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb & Joan Young Field
Live Video – ESPN3 | Game 1 | Game 2
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

April 23, 2023
Rider Broncs (12-22, 2-4 MAAC) vs. Siena Saints (29-12, 8-2 MAAC)
Time: 12 p.m.  
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb & Joan Young Field
Live Video – ESPN+ | Game 1 | Game 2
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

What You Need To Know
- Rider hosts Marist Saturday and Siena Sunday in a pair of MAAC doubleheaders this weekend. The Broncs are in the midst of a stretch of 11 of 12 games at home over a two-week period, with the next six all at Herb & Joan Young Field.
- Rider Athletics suggests fans park at the Turf Field, Poyda Lot, Fine Arts, Y and G, Canastra as we have a busy Saturday with a large track meet, softball doubleheader and men's soccer exhibition contest.

- On Sunday, Rider Softball is hosting "Little Broncs Day at The Island." All youth are invited to join the team on the field for the anthem prior to the first game. The first 10 to check-in at the marketing table will get to run through the starting lineup circle. Following the second game's conclusion all "Little Broncs" may run the bases. Throughout the twinbill fans will have opportunities to win prizes playing softball bingo
- Sunday's giveaway is Rider branded mini wooden bats.
- After snapping a nine-game losing streak April 11 with a sweep of MEAC leader Morgan State, which entered the twinbill at 20-13, the Broncs have won their last six, including a pair of wins over the Bears, Monmouth and Manhattan.
- Five different Broncs had three hits apiece and Jessie Niegocki and Kathryn Schmierer both pitched complete games in the circle in the sweep of Morgan State.
- The win streak reached three-straight with an 11-7 win over Monmouth in a single game on April 13. Gianna Epps led the way, going 3-for-5, while Olivia Burroughs went 2-for-4 with a bases-clearing double.
- Niegocki and Schmierer combined to limit Manhattan to one run on three hits in a doubleheader sweep on April 16.
- The win streak reached six with another single game win at Monmouth on April 19. Niegocki went another seven innings without allowing an earned run, while Chaela Crowder delivered a key pinch-hit, two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning.
- The Broncs had fallen on tough luck in the nine-game losing streak. All nine were lost by two runs or less, as have been 14 of Rider's last 17 losses.
- Sophomore Olivia Burroughs and freshman Jadeyn Merrill have led the Rider offense thus far, hitting .309 and .307, respectively, with three home runs apiece. Burroughs also has a team-high 11 doubles and a triple for 15 extra-base hits. Her 20 RBI's lead the team and her 17 runs scored are second. Merrill has added six doubles, 18 RBI's and 14 runs scored.  
- Jessie Niegocki has also added offensive punch with a .277 average with a team-high 19 runs scored. Her .378 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot also leads the Broncs.   
- The Broncs feature a balanced pitching staff, with three different hurlers making between 14 and 18 appearances and between eight and 14 starts. Niegocki leads the group with five wins, seven complete games, a 2.81 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 79.2 innings pitched. Kathryn Schmierer has added a 2.88 ERA and seven complete games. Fallyn Stoeckel has a 3.87 ERA across 14 appearances, including eight starts, while Jadeyn Merrill has a 3.34 ERA in eight relief appearances.
- Niegocki had a career-high 13 K's vs. Morgan State on April 11, before striking out 10 Manhattan batters in her next outing on April 16. She carried a no hitter into the seventh inning against the Jaspers.
- Rider's wins this season have come over Morgan State (2), Wagner (2), Monmouth (2), Manhattan (2), Lamar, Cleveland State, North Dakota and Delaware.
- Marist has split its last three doubleheaders at UMass and Siena and at home against Seton Hall. The Red Foxes are led by freshman Haley Ahr, who's hit .405 with 39 RBI's and 19 runs scored. As a team, the Red Foxes have hit .287, including .351 from both Alyssa Grupp and Peyton Pusey and .331 with a team-best 35 runs scored from Sam Freeland. Maddie Pleasants has also hit .306 with a team-high three home runs to go along with 26 RBI's.
- Calista Phippen returned for her fifth year with the Red Foxes and has posted a team-leading 11 wins, a 2.02 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 111.0 innings pitched. Kiley Myers is the Red Foxes' clear No. 2 pitcher at a 6-4 record with a 2.66 ERA over 84.1 innings pitched.  
- Ava Fitzmaurice with a .373 average, 15 extra-base hits and 40 RBI's to go along with 26 runs, good for second on the team. Isabella Pardo has also hit .331 with a team-high 30 runs scored, while Angelina Stile has nine doubles and 26 RBI's, good for second on the team.
- Fitzmaurice and Alissa Eimont have done the bulk of the pitching for the Saints, who've posted a 2.88 ERA as a staff. Fitzmaurice has maintained an 11-4 record with a 2.11 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 96.0 innings pitched. Eimont is 9-3 with a 2.57 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 90.0 innings pitched.
- 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.
- Niegocki was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team. She 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 collected the 100^th hit of her Rider career on March 10 against Cleveland State.
- 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 in 2022 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.