Baseball
Friday-Sunday, April 28-30, 2023
Rider Broncs (28-14, 11-4 MAAC) vs. Fairfield Stags (24-14, 9-3 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Sonny Pittaro Field)
First Pitch: 2:30 PM/3:00 PM/10:00 AM
Broadcast: BroncVision (Friday)/ESPN3 (Saturday)/ESPN+ (Sunday)
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
 
 
What You Need To Know
- Friday's game at Trenton Thunder Ballpark will be broadcast on BroncVision with Saturday's game moving to ESPN3 and Sunday's contest on ESPN+.
 
- Tickets are required for Friday's game and can be purchased here.

- Head coach Dr. Barry Davis will be honored pregame for picking up his 1,000th career win earlier this year.

- Rider is planning a multitude of promotions throughout Friday's series-opening matinee. This includes baseball bingo, kids run the bases postgame and on-field between innings activities.

- On Friday, early arriving fans can snag minibats and there will be t-shirts up for grabs during the fifth inning. There will be a cash-only Trenton Thunder 50/50.

- 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 28-14 after splitting a pair of low-scoring games during the midweek. Clayton Poliey (Ringwood, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) tossed a scoreless eighth inning Wednesday to earn the win against Penn.
 
- Rider has 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.
 
- 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 has been 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 has been in the rotation all 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 2.53 ERA in 18 appearances, including the win in Rider's victory over Oklahoma.
 
- Kirwin has a 1.78 ERA and leads the MAAC, ranking second nationally, with 11 saves in 35.1 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 .327 average and is second on the team with 40 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 .311 average and third on the squad with 34 RBIs.
 
- The Broncs' defense has been among the country's best this season, ranking ninth in the country in double plays turned. The Broncs' 4.22 ERA is 29^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.
 
- Fairfield is currently tied with Canisius at 9-3 in MAAC play at the top of the MAAC standings. The Broncs have the most MAAC wins this season at 11. The Stags have won the MAAC Regular Season Championship in each of the last two seasons.
 
- The Stags are one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking 12^th nationally in batting average at .318 and 13^th in the nation in scoring at 9.1 runs per game. Charlie Pagliarini is leading the MAAC with a .401 batting average.
 
- Friday's pitching matchup features Heine against Jake Noviello. Noviello is 4-3 with a 4.79 ERA, striking out 40 batters in 62.0 innings.
 
- Saturday will see Doelling toe the rubber against Colin McVeigh. McVeigh leads all qualified pitchers on Fairfield with a 3.88 ERA and he boasts a 6-0 record this season. He leads Fairfield with 57 strikeouts in 55.2 innings.
 
- Sunday's game will feature Young against Peter Ostensen. Ostensen is 5-3 this season with a 6.33 ERA. He has struck out 34 batters in 42.2 innings.