Baseball
Tuesday-Wednesday, April 25-26, 2023
Rider Broncs (27-13, 11-4 MAAC) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (20-18, 5-4 BIG EAST)/Penn Quakers (23-12, 11-4 IVY)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Sonny Pittaro Field)
First Pitch: 3:00 PM
Broadcast: ESPN+ (Tuesday) / BroncVision (Wednesday)
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
 
 
What You Need To Know
- Tuesday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and Wednesday's game will be broadcast on BroncVision.
 
- Rider baseball will host Fairfield this weekend for a top-of-the-conference battle. The series will open up at Trenton Thunder Ballpark on Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets are required and can be purchased here.
 
- The Broncs entered the 2022 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 2023 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
- The Broncs are 27-13 and have won nine of ten weekend series this season. The Broncs took two of three from Saint Peter's last weekend, including scoring a season-high 22 runs in Friday's series opener. Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) hit a second-inning grand slam in that contest, his 32^nd career home run, putting him just one away from Rider's program record. in a battle at the top of the MAAC standings. became the sixth Bronc this season to reach the 100-hit milestone with a single in the opening contest of the series.
 
- 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 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 3.35 ERA and 43 strike outs in 51.0 innings. Heine is 3-2 with a 5.36 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) has been key on the mound out of the pen, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.66 ERA in 17 appearances, including the win in Rider's victory over Oklahoma.
 
- Kirwin has a 1.83 ERA and leads the MAAC, ranking second nationally, with ten saves in 34.1 innings so far this season. He leads the team with 49 strikeouts, including a career-high seven against Saint Peter's on Saturday. Kirwin also has five wins this season.
 
- Skettini leads the Broncs this season with a .322 average and is second on the team with 39 RBIs. O'Donnell is third in the MAAC with a team-high 12 home runs and second in the MAAC with a team-leading 43 RBIs. Winsett is second on the team with a .319 average and third on the squad with 33 RBIs.
 
- The Broncs' defense has been among the country's best this season, ranking eighth in the country in double plays turned. The Broncs' 4.34 ERA is 34^th nationally.
 
- Rider earned its second Liberty Bell Classic Championship after defeating Delaware, 8-3, last Tuesday. The Broncs previously defeated Villanova, 6-2, in the championship game in 2015.
 
- Seton Hall is 20-18 and 5-4 in Big East play. The Pirates are led offensively by Max Viera. Viera leads the Pirates with a .345 batting average and is second on the team with three home runs.
 
- Last season, when the Broncs traveled to Seton Hall, the Pirates came away with a 6-2 victory. Erbe was 2-for-4 for the Broncs in the setback.
 
- Penn is 23-12 this season, and is 11-4 in Ivy League play. Ben Miller paces the Quakers offense, hitting .336 and sitting second on the team with six home runs. Wyatt Henseler leads Penn with 12 home runs and 47 RBIs.
 
- Last season, the Broncs came from behind 4-0 entering the sixth and 4-1 entering the eighth to stun the Quakers 6-5. Volpe was 2-for-3 in the contest, including an RBI-triple to cap the five-run eighth for Rider.