CONWAY, SC – The Rider University baseball team saw its season come to an end Sunday afternoon, falling 13-5 to top seed and tenth-ranked Coastal Carolina. The Broncs end the season at 36-21, while the Chanticleers improve to 41-20.
 
The Chanticleers jumped out to an early lead scoring five runs in the second, then Coastal added three more in the fourth to go up 8-0.
 
Rider finally broke through in the seventh. John Volpe (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall) led off the inning with a single. After moving to second on a ground out and advancing to third on defensive indifference, Luke Lesch (Gloucester Twp., NJ/Gloucester Catholic) drew a two-out walk. Socrates Bardatsos (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional) then dropped in a single to score Volpe and put Rider on the board.
 
In the eighth, the Chanticleers tacked on a pair to extend their lead to 10-1.
 
The Broncs didn't go down without a fight. With one out in the eighth, Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South[UMass]) singled. Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) was then hit by a pitch. Volpe then delivered an RBI-double to left. Scott Shaw (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) made it back-to-back doubles, driving in two with a hit to right. Following a pitching change, Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) then singled home Shaw to trim the deficit to 10-5.
 
Coastal would add on three runs in the ninth to produce the final score.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We just got off to a tough start. We get down five runs, it just makes it difficult. We battled back and made some good swings, we just wanted to get into [the pen] a little earlier, which we didn't."
 
"Rider doesn't get enough credit. It goes a lot deeper than me. You have Tom Petroff, who took Rider to the world series in 1967. Sonny Pittaro followed him with a 34-year Hall of Fame career. People don't really know the depth that this program has. This is the best team I've had because they compete the best." – Head Coach Dr. Barry Davis
 
"We put everyone on notice that Rider is no joke. We've been playing together for three years, been to three straight championship games. We're a good team, and we just love each other and the group that Coach Davis brought together." – Senior Infielder John Volpe


- Dylan Heine (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) got the start, going 3.1 innings and allowing seven runs on 10 hits. He struck out two and took the loss.
- Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford) fired the next 3.2 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits. He struck out four.
- Clayton Poliey (Ringwood, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) threw the final two innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on three hits. He struck out two.
- Volpe extended his reached-base streak to 23-straight games.
- Rider played in a regional for the 15^th time in program history. Rider's 36 wins matches the 2010 team for most wins in program history.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Six different Rider players recorded a hit on the day, with Volpe the lone Bronc to record multiple hits.
- Shaw led the Broncs with a pair of RBIs.