May 1, 2023 * Senior Day
Rider Broncs (14-28, 4-8 MAAC) vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats (16-20, 4-10 MAAC)
Time: 2 p.m.  
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb & Joan Young Field
Live Video – None
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

What You Need To Know
- Rider hosts Quinnipiac on Senior Day Monday. Prior to the game, the Broncs will honor their four-member senior class of Amanda Cooper, Chaela Crowder, Gianna Epps and Brianna Koonce.
- The Broncs enjoyed a seven-game winning streak from April 11-22, including doubleheader sweeps of Morgan State and Manhattan, a pair of single-game wins over Monmouth, as well as a Game 1 win over Marist, before falling in Game 2.  
- In the Broncs' most-recent win over Saint Peter's, Rider came back from a 6-3 deficit in the bottom of the seventh to score four runs, including the winning run on Brianna Koonce's walk-off RBI single up the middle.
- 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.
- Rider came back from down 2-0 to Marist Apr. 22 on Laneya Wright's second home run of the season, a two-run shot to left. They then added three runs, including a pinch-hit, two-run single from Chaela Crowder, to take the lead. The Broncs held on for a 5-4 win.
- The Broncs suffered a heartbreaker in Game 2 to Siena on Apr. 23, leading 3-0 entering the top of the seventh prior to a four-run frame for the Saints. In the bottom of the inning, Olivia Burroughs missed a game-tying home run by inches, as her shot to right center hit the top of the fence.
- Burroughs leads the Rider offense thus far, hitting .314 with 18 extra-base hits, including a MAAC-leading 14 doubles, one triple and three home runs. Her 22 RBI's and 23 runs scored are second.
- Jadeyn Merrill has added a .304 average, six doubles, three home runs, a team-leading 23 RBI's and 14 runs scored.  
- Jessie Niegocki has also added offensive punch with a .292 average with a team-high 25 runs scored. Her .380 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot also leads the team.    
- The Broncs feature a balanced pitching staff, with three different hurlers making between 17 and 22 appearances and between eight and 17 starts. Niegocki leads the group with seven wins, nine complete games, a 3.11 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 99.0 innings pitched. Kathryn Schmierer has added a 3.36 ERA and eight complete games. Fallyn Stoeckel has a 3.70 ERA across 17 appearances, including eight starts, while Jadeyn Merrill has a 3.94 ERA in 10 appearances, nine out of relief.
- 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, Delaware and Marist.
- Quinnipiac has a 4-10 record in the MAAC with a doubleheader sweep of Niagara and splits with Iona and Mount St. Mary's. The Bobcats have been swept by Canisius, Fairfield, Siena and Marist in league play.
- Mary Fogg leads the Quinnipiac offense with a .345 average, 20 runs scored and seven stolen bases. Bridget Nasir has a team-high 16 RBI's, while Hannah Davis has hit three of the Bobcats' five home runs this season.  
- A pair of Quinnipiac pitchers have thrown over 100 innings, the only hurlers to total more than seven innings pitched on the team. Jaclyn Gonzalez has  team-leading 2.64 ERA over 100.2 innings, while Sydney Horan has pitched to a 2.68 ERA in 122.2 innings, striking out a team-high 87 batters.  
- 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 in/nings 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.