March 16, 2024
Rider Broncs (5-11) vs. Army West Point Black Knights (3-18)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb & Joan Young Field
Live Video – None
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

What You Need To Know
- The Rider Softball team plays host to Army West Point in its home-opening doubleheader Saturday at noon.
- The Broncs have won five games thus far in 2024, taking a pair of games from North Carolina Central and another from Towson at the ECU Pirate Invitational, before defeating Lafayette at the Mizuno Invitational at North Carolina and finally earning a victory over Kansas City at the Connie Claussen Classic, hosted by the University of Nebraska Omaha.
- Kristyn Gardner is hitting a team-best .444 on the season, including a home run and six RBI's. Jessie Niegocki is also hitting .373 with seven runs scored and five RBI's.
- Kendall Reda-Fehsal has also contributed a .326 batting average with a team-high 10 RBI's.
- Jadeyn Merrill leads the Rider pitching staff with a 2-1 record and a 2.63 ERA, while Niegocki is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a team-high 17 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched.
- Eight of the Black Knights' first 21 games have come against high-major competition. Their three wins have come against Kennesaw State, Detroit Mercy and Wagner.
- Kayla Edwards leads the Army offense with 26 hits, a .382 average and 11 runs scored. She's also driven in seven. Caitlyn Newburn has hit .325 with three home runs and 10 RBI's, while Ashton White has a .310 average with two home runs and a team-leading 12 RBI's.
- Breanna Izzo leads Army's pitching staff with a 4.32 ERA in 13 appearances, including two starts. Amanda Eaglin has made a team-high 10 starts and has a 5.47 ERA, while Olivia Farris has started seven of 10 appearances and has a 6.62 ERA.
- The Broncs were picked to finish seventh in the MAAC Preseason Poll, matching their 2023 finish in the league.
- Two-time All-MAAC selection Jessie Niegocki was once again tabbed to the Preseason All-MAAC Team at utility. Niegocki hit a team-best .333 with 32 runs, eight stolen bases and a .413 on-base percentage offensively, while also leading the Broncs as a pitcher with a 3.19 ERA, 10 wins and 118 strikeouts in 118.1 innings pitched, limiting opponents to a .242 batting average.
- Also back for the Broncs is All-MAAC Second Team DP Jadeyn Merrill, who hit .281 with seven doubles, three home runs, 24 RBI's and 16 runs scored as a freshman in 2023. Her average rose to .320 in league contests, where she drove in nine runs and scored five times. She contributed eight multi-hit games.
- The Broncs return their entire pitching staff from 2023 and one of their best pitcher from the two years prior. Niegocki, Kathryn Schmierer (3.44 ERA, 99.2 IP), Fallyn Stoeckel (3.83 ERA, 80.1 IP) and Merrill (3.94 ERA, 21.1 IP) return from last year's staff, while Anna-Marie Groskritz (2.64 ERA, 207.0 IP in 2021-22) returns to the circle for the Broncs following an injury that claimed her entire 2023 season.
- Rider also welcomes eight newcomers in junior college transfer outfielder Asiah Bell and freshmen Kiersten Buchanan (Infield - Holly Springs, NC/Holly Springs), Abby Cruz (Catcher - Corona, CA/Santiago), Shelby Dyer (Outfield - Clarksboro, NJ/Kingsway), Kendall Reda-Fehsal (Catcher - Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury), Olivia Smith (First Base - Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township), Tristen Wren (Outfield - Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) and Kayley York (Infield - Telford, PA/Souderton Area)
- The Broncs are led by seventh-year Head Coach Davon Ortega. Rider's 28 wins in 2022 were the most in Ortega's tenure at Rider by a nine-win margin (19, 2023). Following a 15-year absence, the Broncs made back-to-back MAAC Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022.