LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ- The Rider University baseball team dropped the middle matchup vs Niagara 3-2 in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, Rider falls to 21-17 and 12-2 in the MAAC and Niagara moves to 25-12 and 12-2 in the MAAC. 

The Purple Eagles scored first in the matchup of the two top teams in the MAAC with a lone run in the top of the first. However, after allowing the run Brian Young (Neptune, NJ/ Communication HS) got the Broncs out with his first of four strikeouts on the afternoon. 

Rider did manage to respond shortly after driving in a run in the bottom of the second. The inning started with Matt Shepherd (Drexel Hill,PA/Monsignor Bonner/Rowan College of South Jersey) lining one off of the Niagara pitcher to reach with one out. Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/ Shawnee) brought in his fellow outfielder with a base of his own tying the game at one.

Niagara went on to tally the go-ahead run in the fifth inning as the offense slowed for the next three innings until Rider found the tying run late. In the ninth, Anthony Paskell (Solon, OH/ Saint Ignatius) got on with a lead-off bunt putting the tying run on base. Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern) added the go-ahead run to the base paths with his second walk of the day. The Broncs got the clutch hit from Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/ Ridgewood) who sent a ball to the right field corner that allowed Paskell to score on a bang-bang play at the plate tying the game at two in the ninth.

However, in the 10th Niagra struck big with a solo home run with one out to go ahead 3-2. In the bottom half of the inning, Joe Tiroly (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) led off with a base hit and Rider was able to move the runner to third however left Tiroly stranded falling in extra innings.

-" We needed two-out hits and we weren't really getting two-out hits, if you take a look at the stats from the game look at what we were with two-outs or with runners in scoring position I can tell you it wasn't very good. I thought the inning where we tied the game it was our best chance to win the game a little bit of bad base running we had a bad read there, but that happens. We still had an opportunity there with the middle of the order up and one out that's what you want, and we just didn't come through" Rider Head Coach Dr Barry Davis 

- Will Gallagher (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) got the loss pitching two innings allowing three hits and one earned run. 

- Rider had six hits with Winsett, Skettini, Lesch, Tiroly, Shepherd, Hartmann, and Paskell all getting a hit on the day.

- Lesch has reached in all 38 games played this year. He also moves his hit streak to six games.

- Lesch and Paskell both had multi-hit games in the loss. 

- Winsett and Tiroly move their on-base streaks to 10 games.

- Skettini moves his hit streak to six games. 

The Broncs continue the series with Niagara tomorrow at 12 PM on ESPN+.