Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Rider University Athletics

Rider Broncs
The Official Website of Rider University Athletics
Brianna Koonce Gianna Epps
Brian Foley
4
Winner Rider RID 18-31, 8-11 MAAC
0
Niagara NIA 9-33, 3-16 MAAC
Winner
Rider RID
18-31, 8-11 MAAC
4
Final
0
Niagara NIA
9-33, 3-16 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Rider RID 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 10 0
Niagara NIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1

W: Niegocki, Jessie (9-13) L: Hickingbottom, Maddi (5-15)

4
Winner Rider RID 19-31, 9-11 MAAC
1
Niagara NIA 9-34, 3-17 MAAC
Winner
Rider RID
19-31, 9-11 MAAC
4
Final
1
Niagara NIA
9-34, 3-17 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Rider RID 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 14 1
Niagara NIA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2

W: Stoeckel, Fallyn (6-6) L: Leone, Cara (2-11)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Sweeps Niagara to Wrap Up 2023 Season

Broncs' offense totals double-digit hits in both games

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – Brianna Koonce (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) and Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) had five hits apiece and Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) added four hits as the Rider University softball team swept Niagara to close out the 2023 season Saturday afternoon. With the wins, the Broncs finish the year at 19-31 (9-11 MAAC), while the Purple Eagles wrap up the year at 9-34 (3-17 MAAC).

All the Game 1 scoring came in four-run third inning for the Broncs. Epps and Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) reached on singles and moved up to second and third on an error. With two outs, the Broncs got consecutive RBI knocks from Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual), Kristyn Gardner (Perrysville, MD/Perrysville) and Koonce. Burroughs singled to drive in Epps, before Gardner plated Wright with a double. With runners on second and third, Koonce doubled home Gardner and Burroughs to give Rider a 4-0 lead. Niegocki held Niagara to just two hits and two walks over six-plus shutout innings, striking out four. Kathryn Schmierer (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) retired the final three batters to close out the game.

Game 2 began with the Broncs plating two in the top of the first. An error on a would-be third out allowed Epps, who'd singled earlier in the inning, to score. Wright, who'd walked, scored as Gardner ripped a single to the hole at short to make it 2-0 after a half inning. The Purple Eagles got one back on a leadoff home run from Lindsay Mayo in the bottom of the inning to make it 2-1 Broncs after one.

Rider added a run in the top of the fourth as Niegocki doubled, moved to third on an Epps infield single and scored on Wright's sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Rider. After being hit by a pitch, but being called back by the home plate umpire, Burroughs took two bases instead of one with a double to right, before scoring on Koonce's double to push the Broncs' lead to 4-1 in the fifth. Rider starting pitcher Fallyn Stoeckel (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) would do the rest, blanking the Purple Eagles on just two hits after the leadoff home run from Mayo in the first.

Notes
- Niegocki won Game 1 in the circle, limiting Niagara to just two hits and two walks over six-plus shutout innings. She struck out four.  
- Schmierer retired all three batters she faced in a scoreless seventh inning of Game 1 to secure the victory.  
- Stoeckel earned the Game 2 win, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk, striking out six.
- With her four-hit day, Epps concludes her Rider career with 97 hits.
- Chaela Crowder (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) also had her 75th career hit in Game 2.
- Koonce's five hits pushed her career total to 71.  
- Rider finishes the regular season a game back of the six-team MAAC Championship field, tied with Saint Peter's for seventh at 9-11. The tournament field is set with regular-season champion Canisius (17-3) to host second-seeded Mount St. Mary's (15-5), No. 3 Marist (12-8), No. 4 Fairfield (11-9), No. 5 Siena (11-9) and No. 6 Iona (10-10) beginning Wednesday.

Broncs by the Numbers
- The Broncs' offense had a season-high 14 hits in Game 2, besting the 13 Rider had on March 10 against Cleveland State. Rider also had 10 hits in Game 1, giving the team consecutive double-digit hit outputs for just the second time this season (Apr. 13 vs. Monmouth, Apr. 16 vs. Manhattan).  
- Koonce went 5-for-6 with a pair of doubles and three RBI's Saturday. She went 2-for-2 with a walk in Game 1, before going 3-for-4 in Game 2. She doubled in each game. Koonce had multiple hits in consecutive games for the first time in her Rider career.
- Niegocki went 5-for-9 with a double and a run scored. She finishes the year with a team-leading .333 average, including a .433 average in league games.
- Epps went 4-for-7 with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base. She went 3-for-5 in Game 2, marking her second three-hit game of the year and her eighth multi-hit game of the season.
- Burroughs collected three hits on the day, including a pair of doubles, to push her MAAC-leading total to 19 two-baggers on the season, three ahead of the field as of the conclusion of the Broncs' doubleheader today. Burroughs also drove in two and scored two on the day.
- Gardner also had three hits, including a double, with two RBI's and a run scored on the day.
- Stoeckel contributed a pair of hits and a walk at the plate.
- Wright singled, drove in a run and scored twice. She also stole a base.
- Crowder also singled in Game 2.   

Up Next
The Broncs wrap up the regular season tomorrow afternoon at Niagara. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at noon. 
Print Friendly Version