LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) had a team-high four hits on the day and pitched a complete game for the Game 1 victory as the Rider University softball team swept a Saturday doubleheader with Fairfield, 7-1 and 2-1. With the sweep, the Broncs improve to 16-24 (8-6 MAAC), while the Stags fall to 10-28 (7-10 MAAC).

In Game 1, the Broncs immediately struck for a three-run first. Rider loaded the bases on the first three batters with Niegocki and Fallyn Stoeckel (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) both singling, before Maddie Luedtke (Gibbstown, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology) walked. After Fairfield got the first out on a force at the plate, Kiersten Buchanan's (Holly Springs, NC/Holly Springs) ground ball to the shortstop's right got through her legs, scoring two. Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) would follow with an RBI single to push the Broncs' lead to 3-0 after one. After Fairfield got a run back in the top of the second, Tristen Wren (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored on Kristyn Gardner's (Perryville, MD/Perryville) two-out RBI single to make it 4-1 Rider after two.

A solo home run from Kendall Reda-Fehsal (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) in the bottom of the fifth pushed the Broncs' lead to 5-1, before Buchanan added a two-run double to make it 7-1 Rider in the bottom of the sixth. Niegocki worked a 1-2-3 top of the seventh to close out her first complete game of the year.

After two scoreless frames in Game 2, Luedtke broke the deadlock with a two-out, two-run shot to left center in the bottom of the third to put the Broncs on top, 2-0. Fairfield got a run back in the top of the sixth, when Delaney Whieldon's line drive to right evaded Wren's dive, scoring pinch runner Darby Weller with a two-out triple. But Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) came on to get the final out of the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 seventh to close out the win.
 
Notes
- Niegocki pitched her first complete game of the year in Game 1, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk. She struck out seven.
- Stoeckel started and got the win in Game 2, allowing just one run on six hits and a walk. She struck out one.
- Groskritz picked up her team-leading third save of the year with 1.1 innings perfect innings. She struck out one.  

Broncs by the Numbers
- Niegocki went 4-for-7 with a run scored.
- Luedtke went 2-for-5 with a double, a two-run home run and three runs scored. She also walked twice. The home run was her team-leading sixth of the year.
- Gardner and Burroughs each delivered a pair of singles and an RBI.
- Stoeckel also singled twice and scored a run.
- Wren and Buchanan each doubled and scored a run.
- Buchanan also drove in a team-high three runs.
- Reda-Fehsal briefly tied Luedtke for the team lead with her fifth home run of the season in Game 1, before Luedtke retook the lead with her round tripper in Game 2.
- Amanda Cooper (Huntsville, TX/Huntsville) scored a run as a pinch runner.

Up Next
The Broncs wrap up their three-game series with Fairfield on Sunday at noon. Prior to the game, the Broncs will honor their four-member senior class of Cooper, Groskritz, Niegocki and Laneya Wright (Tucson, AZ/Marana) on Senior Day.