FAIRFIELD, CT – Jadeyn Merrill (Lamesa, TX/Lamesa) led the Broncs' offense, going 4-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI's, but the Rider University softball team took a pair of one-run losses, 8-7 and 3-2, Monday afternoon at Fairfield. With the setbacks, the Broncs fall to 6-20 (0-4 MAAC), while the Stags are now 7-14 (2-2 MAAC).

The Broncs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Game 1. Merrill and Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) got the scoring started with consecutive RBI doubles in the top of the first, scoring Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) and Merrill, respectively. The Broncs added three more in the third, with Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) delivering Merrill with a double and Kristyn Gardner (Perryville, MD/Perryville) following with a two-out, two-run single, plating Wright and Burroughs.

But Fairfield answered with a five-run bottom of the third. Delaney Whieldon delivered the first blow with a three-run home run, before an RBI single and a wild pitch, both with two outs, accounted for the tying runs. Fairfield took its first lead of the day in the fourth as an error to lead off the frame came around to score on a two-out RBI single from Whieldon. The Broncs would retake the lead in the sixth on some two-out magic of their own, as Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) blooped in a single down the right field line to score Gardner with tying run and came around to score on consecutive singles from Chaela Crowder (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) and Merrill. But Fairfield answered in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs. Following a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice bunt, Kaitlin Hoffman's single tied the game and Whieldon's double gave Fairfield the decisive 8-7 lead. The Broncs got a runner aboard on a hit-by-pitch in the seventh, but she was erased as the next batter grounded into a double play to end the game.

In Game 2, the Stags jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third, using a hit-by-pitch and a bunt single to set the table for Megan Forbes' two-out, two-run single. Epps reached on an error to begin the fourth and moved station-to-station on a groundout and a Merrill single, before scoring on a Burroughs single to cut the deficit in half at 2-1. A Haley Updegraff solo home run in the bottom of the frame pushed the lead back to two at 3-1. The Broncs scratched across another run in the top of the sixth, as Merrill singled and pinch runner Chelsea Weatherford (Wixom, MI/White Lake Lakeland) took third on a Wright single and scored on a Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) sacrifice fly to make it a 3-2 Fairfield lead. But the Stags kept the Broncs off the board for the remainder to hold on for the win.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We are starting to put things together, but we keep coming up 1-2 hits short. We have to stay the course and keep fighting." – Rider Head Coach Davon Ortega

- Niegocki took both losses in the circle, pitching the final inning of Game 1 and all 6.0 innings of Game 2. All told, she allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits, two walks and two hit-by-pitches over 7.0 innings pitched. She struck out five.
- Kathryn Schmierer (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) got the Game 1 start and allowed five earned runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings pitched. She struck out two.
- Fallyn Stoeckel (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) pitched 2.1 innings of relief in Game 1, allowing one unearned run on two hits. She struck out one.  

Broncs by the Numbers
- Merrill went 4-for-6 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and two RBI's.
- Gardner, Wright and Epps added three hits apiece. Gardner scored once and drove in two, while Epps scored twice, drove in one and stole a base. Wright doubled, scored a run and drove in another.
- Burroughs had two hits, including a double, drove in two and scored a run.
- Niegocki reached safely three times on a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch. She scored once.
- Koonce and Crowder each added one single, with Koonce also driving in a run.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Wednesday, when they travel to Seton Hall. First pitch of the doubleheader from South Orange, NJ, is scheduled for 2 p.m.