BALTIMORE, MD – Kristyn Gardner (Perryville, MD/Perryville) had three hits and Kathryn Schmierer (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) went the distance in the circle in Game 2 as the Rider University softball team split a non-conference doubleheader at Morgan State on Wednesday. The Bears won Game 1, 4-0, before Rider took Game 2, 3-1. With the split, the Broncs move to 14-24, while the Bears are now 25-15.

In Game 1, the Bears scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the third and added a single tally in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. The support would be more than enough for the three Bears pitchers, who pieced together a three-hit shutout.

In Game 2, Fallyn Stoeckel (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) led off with a walk and Maddie Luedtke (Gibbstown, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology) followed with a one-out single, before a throwing error scored the first two Rider runs. After a leadoff homer in the bottom of the third for Morgan State cut the Broncs' lead on half at 2-1, Rider got the run back in the top of the fifth when Gardner doubled with one out and Jadeyn Merrill (Lamesa, TX/Lamesa) immediately followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1 Broncs.

Schmierer did the rest, pitching a complete game while allowing just the one run on a solo shot as part of a three-hit, one-walk effort. Schmierer struck out six Bears.
 
Notes
- Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) started Game 1 and took the loss. She allowed four earned runs on six hits and a hit-by-pitch in 4.0 innings pitched. She struck out four.
- Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) pitched 2.0 innings of relief without allowing a hit or walk, striking out one. The only baserunner she surrendered reached on an error.   
- Schmierer allowed just one earned run over her complete-game win in Game 1, scattering three hits and one walk. She struck out six.  

Broncs by the Numbers
- Gardner went 3-for-6, including a 3-for-3 effort with two doubles, a single and a walk in Game 2.
- Niegocki had both of her hits in Game 1 and scored a run in Game 2.
- Merrill had a single and the Broncs' lone RBI on the day in Game 2.
- Luedtke singled and scored a run.
- Olivia Smith (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township), Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana), Kiersten Buchanan (Holly Springs, NC/Holly Springs) and Stoeckel had one hit each.
- Amanda Cooper (Huntsville, TX/Huntsville) also scored a run.
- Shelby Dyer (Clarksboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) stole a base.

Up Next
The Broncs return to MAAC play Saturday and Sunday, when they host Fairfield for a three-game series. Both days are set for noon starts, with a doubleheader slated for Saturday.