PHILADELPHIA – Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) had four hits and drove in two, but the Rider University softball team was swept at Drexel, 4-1, Wednesday afternoon. With the losses, the Broncs fall to 14-28, while the Dragons are now 12-30.

Drexel opened the Game 1 scoring in the bottom of the first on a single, sacrifice bunt and a double. The Dragons later added a second run on a 1^st-and-3^rd double steal. After recording the first two outs of the bottom of the second inning, Merrill allowed a single to Grace Abbonizio, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an Izzy Alamillo single to make it 3-0 Dragons.

Kathryn Schmierer's (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) first career hit and walks from Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) and Julia Harsche (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph-by-the-Sea) loaded the bases for Wright, who singled to center to score two. An inning later, the Broncs tied the game at 3-3 on a Niegocki squeeze bunt after singles from Maddie Luedtke (Gibbstown, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology) and Schmierer put runners on the corners. But Drexel would break the deadlock with an unearned run after an error to lead off the fifth and tacked on a run with an RBI triple in the sixth from Abbonizio to make it 5-3.  

In Game 2, the Broncs scored first with a single run in the top of the second. Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) led off with a single, Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) reached on an error and Kristyn Gardner (Perryville, MD/Perryville) singled to load the bases with no outs. The Broncs settled for the one run on a Harsche groundout. A solo home run, an error and consecutive two-out base hits gave Drexel the lead, 3-1, in the bottom half inning. The only other scoring in the game came on a two-out single in the fifth. Rider loaded the bases on three walks in the top of the sixth, but couldn't score, and the game was cut short to six innings due to heavy rain.  

Notes
- Merrill pitched a complete game in her first collegiate start. She took the loss, allowing five runs, four earned, on 10 hits and a walk. She struck out one.
- Schmierer got the start in the circle in Game 2 and took the loss. She allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and a walk in 2.0 innings pitched. She struck out one.
- Fallyn Stoeckel (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) pitched the final 3.0 innings in relief, allowing one earned run on three hits. She struck out five.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Wright went 4-for-7 with a pair of RBI's.
- Schmierer added the first two hits and run of her Rider career in Game 1.
- Stoeckel also collected her first hit as a Bronc in Game 1.
- Luedtke singled in Game 1 and reached on a walk in Game 2.
- Burroughs singled and scored a run in Game 2.
- Koonce singled and walked in Game 2.
- Gardner got a rare game off in Game 1, before reaching in all three plate appearances in Game 2 on a single and two walks.
- Harsche walked in Game 1 and singled and drove in a run in Game 2.
- Niegocki walked, scored a run and drove in another in Game 1.
- Merrill also reached on a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Game 1.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Saturday, when they travel to Mount St. Mary's. First pitch from Emmitsburg, MD, is scheduled for noon.