POMONA, NY – The Rider University baseball team claimed its second MAAC Championship in the last three seasons, defeating top-seeded Fairfield, 18-4, in the winner take all championship game, after Fairfield forced the contest with an 8-7 win in the opening game of the day. The Broncs earn the conference's automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament at 35-19 on the season, while the Stags close out the year at 36-18.
 
The Broncs jumped out to an early lead in game one. John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall) led off the game with a single to center. With two outs and two on thanks to a Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) walk, Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) hit a bomb to left field that not only cleared the fence, but left the stadium to put Rider up 3-0.
 
The Stags responded with a run in the second and both pitchers began to settle in. The Stags would eventually add a run in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2.
 
O'Donnell led off the sixth with a single. Two batters later, Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) turned on a pitch and sent it down the right field line for an RBI double. With two outs, Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) singled home Winsett to make it 5-2.
 
The Stags had the response in the bottom half of the inning, using a three-run home run as part of a four-run inning to take the lead, 6-5.
 
The lead would be short lived for Fairfield. Luke Lesch (Gloucester Twp., NJ/Gloucester Catholic) hit a one-out single. O'Donnell followed with his second home run of the game into the short porch in right field, putting Rider back on top, 7-6.
 
The Broncs had the Stags down to their final strike in the ninth, but a two-out, two-strike single tied the game, and a wild pitch brought in the winning run for Fairfield in game one.
 
In game two, it was once again the Broncs striking first. O'Donnell led off the second with a walk. Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional) then doubled to put runners on second and third. O'Donnell came in to score on a sacrifice fly to open the scoring. Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South[UMass]) followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Following a pitching change, Hartmann delivered an RBI single. A walk drawn by Volpe loaded the bases, and a run would score on a fielder's choice and a Stags error brought in another to make it 4-0 Broncs after two.
 
In the fifth, the Stags offense got on the board with a three-run inning, highlighted by a two-run home run to trim the Rider lead to just one, but the Broncs had an immediate answer.
 
Scott Shaw (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run. After two consecutive outs, the Broncs caught fire. O'Donnell was hit by a pitch, Bardatsos then walked. Winsett, Erbe, Hartmann, and Volpe each singled home a run to bring Shaw up for the second time in the inning and for the second time in the inning, Shaw cleared the fence for a home run. When the final out was finally recorded, Rider scored eight in the inning and extended the lead to 12-3.
 
The Broncs added on in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. Winsett drew a one-out walk in the sixth, then Erbe doubled down the left-field line. With two away, Volpe went the other way with a two-run double down the right-field line. In the seventh, Skettini led off the inning with a single, then Lesch powered a home run to right. In the eighth, Erbe led off the inning with a single. With two outs, Shaw hit his third home run of the game, putting Rider up 18-3. The Stags would get a run in the ninth to produce the final score.
 
Quotes & Notes
"One of the things that made us successful is that we're all experienced. We start seven seniors, a junior captain that's played since day one, and a freshman in right field. Then you have a freshman on the mound. He did a good job."
 
"I just told them, 'Hey, it's happened before, and we can do it again.' Just be you and stay positive. It's a new game, and once we got the lead, it really calmed everybody down." – Head Coach Dr. Barry Davis
 
"Never had a game like that in my life, It couldn't have happened at a better time." – Senior Outfielder Scott Shaw

- Dylan Heine (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) got the start in game one, going 4.1 innings and allowing two runs on four hits, striking out two and walking one.
- Clayton Poliey (Ringwood, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) was the first out of the pen, allowing three runs in 0.2 innings on four hits.
- Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford) tossed an inning, allowing one run on one hit. He struck out two.
- Danny Kirwin (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) worked 2.2 innings out of the pen, allowing two runs on one hit. He struck out one, and took the loss.
- PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) started game two, throwing five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out four to earn the win.
- Alec Sachais (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Holy Spirit) tossed the final four innings, giving up just one run on two hits. He struck out two to earn the save.
- O'Donnell's two home runs in game one tied and then broke the program's career home run record as he now has 34. The record was previously held by Ed Whited and Jason Koehler.
- Volpe extended his reached-base streak to 20-straight games.
- Frank Doelling (Riverside, NJ/Riverside[Rowan College of Burlington County]), Brian Young (Neptune, NJ/Communication), Volpe, Lesch, and Shaw were named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team with Shaw earning Tournament MVP honors.
- Rider advances to the NCAA Regionals for the 15^th time and first since 2021. In his 19th season at Rider and his 34th as a collegiate Head Coach, Dr. Barry Davis led a Broncs team to NCAA's for the fourth time (2008, 2010, 2021).
- This is the fourth MAAC Championship for the Broncs, all under Davis, and their ninth appearance in the MAAC Championship Game all-time.
- The Broncs advanced to the College World Series in 1967.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- All nine Rider starters recorded a hit on the day, led by four each from Volpe, Shaw, O'Donnell, Erbe, and Hartmann.
- Seven Broncs recorded RBIs with six from Shaw in game two.
- O'Donnell's two home runs have him with 14 on the season.
- Shaw's three home runs give him eight on the year.
- Lesch's home run is his eighth of the campaign.
 
Up Next
The Broncs await their fate in the NCAA Selection Show which will be televised on ESPN2 Monday at 12 p.m.