Baseball
Friday-Monday, June 2-5, 2023
NCAA Conway Regional
Location: Conway, SC (Springs Brooks Stadium)
Friday Broadcast: ESPN+
Live Stats: NCAA.com
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
 
 
What You Need To Know
- The fourth-seeded Rider University baseball team visits Conway, SC to face top-seeded and tenth-ranked Coastal Carolina in the 2023 NCAA Conway Regional Friday night at Springs Brooks Stadium.
 
- Games on the opening day at the Conway Regional will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
- The Broncs were steady all season, losing three-straight just once all season and winning 10 of 12 weekend series. The Broncs earned the two seed and a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament where the pitching staff took over, with Frank Doelling (Riverside, NJ/Riverside) and Clayton Poliey (Ringwood, NJ/Don Bosco Prep combining for an 8-0 shutout win over Quinnipiac, followed by Brian Young (Neptune, NJ/Communication) going 7.1 innings with three runs allowed against Fairfield, who entered top-10 in the country in runs per game, before Danny Kirwin (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) retired all five batters he faced to save the 6-3 victory. After having the Stags down to their final strike in the first game of the championship series, Fairfield earned an 8-7 walk-off win, but the Broncs used an eight-run fifth inning in the winner-take-all championship game on their way to an 18-4 victory.
 
- In addition to their weekend success, the Broncs won three midweek games to claim the Liberty Bell Classic Championship at Citizens Bank Park, behind five innings with just one run allowed from PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) in the championship game. The Broncs also got a top-10 win over Duke when Luke Lesch (Gloucester Township, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), who had previously homered to tie the game 1-1, broke the tie in the top of the ninth with an RBI double.
 
- Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) earned Second-Team All-MAAC honors at catcher this season. The junior leads the Broncs with a .308 average and is second on the team with 46 RBIs and third on the team with 46 runs scored.
 
- Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional), who splits time behind the plate with Skettini as well as being the team's primary designated hitter, is second on the team with 32 walks.
 
- Brendan O'Donnell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley), a Second-Team All-MAAC selection and MAAC All-Tournament Team honoree in 2022 and 2023 Preseason All-American, leads the Broncs with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. At the MAAC Tournament, he hit his 34^th career home run, setting a new program record.
 
- Scott Shaw (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West), who leads the team with 53 runs scored, earned MAAC Tournament MVP honors after hitting three home runs, including two in one inning, in the winner-take-all MAAC Championship game.
 
- Richie Sica (Wycoff, NJ/Ramapo), who has a perfect fielding percentage this season, rounds out the outfield for the Broncs.
 
- Lesch, who is second on the team with eight home runs, 2021 MAAC Tournament MVP Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South[UMass]), John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall), who leads the team with 18 steals, and Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern), who sits third on the team with a .288 average, make up the Rider infield.
 
- Eight of Rider's batters have recorded 100 career hits.
 
- Rider leads the MAAC and ranks 18^th in the nation with a 4.21 team ERA.
 
- The Broncs' rotation has been led by Doelling, a Second-Team All-MAAC pitcher. Doelling has led the rotation this season with a 6-2 record, pitching to a 3.52 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 69.0 innings. Dylan Heine (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) is 4-3 with a 4.68 ERA and boasts a 46-18 strikeout to walk ratio. Young went 6-6 with a 5.94 ERA and 52 strikeouts so far this season.
 
- The bullpen has led by Kirwin, the MAAC Relief Pitcher of the Year, who is 6-2 with a 2.12 ERA and a MAAC-leading 14 saves this season. His 14 saves currently rank second in the country. Kirwin struck out a team-high 64 batters in just 46.2 innings during the regular season.
 
- Alec Sachais (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Holy Spirit) has been another key on the mound out of the pen, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.48 ERA in 20 appearances, including the win in Rider's victory over defending national runners-up Oklahoma. Saichais also threw the final four innings to earn the save in the MAAC Championship Game.
 
- Poliey has a 3-1 record with a 3.67 ERA in 21 appearances out of the pen, earning MAAC All-Rookie Team honors.
 
- The Broncs have been deadly when leading late in contests, posting a record of 24-2 when leading after six innings, 26-4 when leading or tied after seven innings, and 30-2 when leading or tied after eight innings.
 
- Rider will play Coastal Carolina for the third time in program history Friday. The first two meeting came in 2005, Davis' first season with the Broncs. The Chanticleers won both meetings that season. The Broncs are 1-5 against Duke all-time after splitting the two games the teams played earlier this season. Lesch provided the Broncs' offense in the 2-1 win with a solo home run in the second, then an RBI-double in the top of the ninth. Sachais and Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford) each threw three innings, Will Gallagher (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) tossed two, and Kirwin closed out the ninth, combining to allow just one run. The Broncs and UNC Wilmington have played just twice, with the Seahawks winning both meetings, first in 1997 then the second in 2000.
 
- Friday's pitching matchup is Doelling against Coastal Carolina's Liam Doyle. Doyle is 3-0 with a 4.31 ERA. Primarily used out of the pen, Doyle has tossed over four innings just three times this season. The Chanticleers are led offensively by catcher Caden Bodine, who was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in addition to earning First-Team All-Sun Belt honors.