Box Score ANNANDALE, NY- After tallying a season-high 17 runs the Rider University Baseball team's opening matchup of the series at Marist was halted after the eighth inning due to darkness. The Broncs and Red Foxes will continue action tomorrow afternoon where they will finish the final inning of game one and will play game two approximately 30 minutes later. 

The Broncs exploded offensively in the first action of the weekend tallying a season-high 17 runs and 19 hits in the the first eight innings of game number one. The powerful offense was shown right out of the gates as the Broncs tallied three runs in the first inning, starting with Joe Tiroly (Yardley, PA/ Pennsbury) driving in a pair off a two-run double, getting the Broncs an early lead. Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/ Shawnee) added the third run of the first frame, scoring Tiroly with a base hit to left giving Rider a 3-0 lead after one. 

The Red Foxes battled right back with four runs in the bottom of the second however their strong inning would set off the explosion for the Broncs in the third and fourth. Rider would put up back-to-back six-run innings both of which tied a season highs for the Broncs. Hartmann started the scoring in the third, earning another RBI and tying the game at four scoring Luke Lesch (Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) on a base hit to the right side. The Broncs would break the game wide-open with a pair of massive doubles from Matt Shepherd (Drexel Hill, PA/Monsignor Bonner|Rowan College of South Jersey) and Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) to give Rider a 9-4 lead after the top of the third.

Marist added a pair of runs of their own to continue the fight however the Broncs responded with another heavyweight punch of an inning with another six spot in the top of the fourth. Hartmann again was the catalyst to a massive inning, doubling down the left field line to put the Broncs into double digits. However, the Broncs' inning was far from over, as Rider went on to score another five runs being capped off with Lesch driving in Skettini to extend the Rider lead to nine.

The Broncs saw a strong finish to the day for starter PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) keeping Marist off the board in his final two innings in the fourth and fifth. The Broncs tallied another run in the bottom of the sixth as Anthony Paskell (Solon, OH/Saint Ignatius) hit into a sacrifice fly scoring Justin Costanzo (East Greenwich, N.J./Gloucester Catholic|Widener) to extend the lead to double digits. 

Marist showed a strong fight late in the evening scoring six combined runs in the last three innings played on Friday night, however, Skettini put an exclamation mark on the explosive efforts with his fifth home run of the season in the top of the eighth, as Rider would take a 17-12 lead when play was suspended.

Bronc Notes and Broncs by the Numbers
- Rider had a season-high 19 hits on the day with all but one member of the starting lineup recording a hit.
- Every member of the starting lineup reached safely 
- Skettini had a monster day tallying a career-high five RBIs
- Hartmann went 5-6 on the day with a career-high five hits and three RBIs.
- Shepherd also recorded a career-high four RBIs.
- Skettini moved his hit streak to 13 games and on-base streak to 22.  
- Lesch has reached in all 29 games played this year. 

Up Next
The Broncs continue game one vs Marist on April 13th at 1:00 PM at Marist.