LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ- The Rider University Baseball team wrapped up their 2024 home season with a series sweep of the Iona Gaels taking game three 12-7. With the win, the Broncs move to 25-20 and 16-5 in the MAAC dropping Iona to 11-36 and 5-16 in the conference. 

Broncs starter Clayton Poliey (Ringwood, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) started with a pair of strong innings, sitting down the Gaels in order in the second to wrap up two scoreless innings to start.

The scoring started with a big inning for the Gaels, as they brought home four runs in the top of the third. The Broncs were ready to answer however firing three runs of their own in the bottom of the third. The inning kicked off with a lead-off walk from Matt Leahy (Woolwich, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and another one from Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern). Luke Lesch (Gloucester, NJ/ Gloucester Catholic) kicked off the scoring by driving in Leahy with a sacrifice fly. The big hit of the inning came from Joe Tiroly (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) who launched a ball to left center field cutting the lead to one with his seventh HR of the season. 

After Poliey and Co. left the Gaels scoreless in the top of the fourth the Broncs put together a massive bottom half to take the lead. The Broncs started the inning with three straight walks to load the bases. Winsett was the first to do damage, scoring Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) on a base hit to center tying the game at four. The Broncs took the lead off a fielding error, allowing Brian Skettini (Midland Park, NJ/Ridgewood) to reach safely. Moments later Lesch added another RBI driving in two runners on a base hit to put Rider ahead 7-4. The final two runs of the inning came in off a fielding error by the Iona first-baseman allowing both Skettini and Lesch to score rounding out a six-run bottom of the fourth.

Following another lead-off walk in the fifth by Anthony Paskell (Solon, OH/Saint Ignatius), Winsett captured his second RBI of the day scoring Paskell on a base hit to right, securing Rider's third-consecutive scoring inning.

In the seventh, Skettini was the long ball hitter sending a ball out and over the scoreboard in left field putting Rider ahead 11-4 on his team-best eighth home run of the year.

In the top of the eighth, Iona saw a pair of runners come in to score cutting the lead to four. The final Rider run of the day came from the last member of the 2024 Rider Baseball graduating class Matt Shepherd (Drexel Hill, PA/Monsignor Bonner/Rowan College of South Jersey) who led off with a base hit and was eventually brought in to score off a Paskell sacrifice fly in the eighth. 

Will Gallagher (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) entered the game following two solid innings from Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford) in relief. Gallagher went on to close out the ball game working out of a jam in the ninth finishing one and a third innings scoreless as Rider held on to win 12-7.


 Quotes and Notes 
-"16-5 is a pretty good stretch, I thought today we battled Luke, Tiroly, Winsett, and Skettini were good top of the order with nine RBIs so that's what you're hoping for your top guys in the order. I thought Poliey battled and Christian was good. We kinda ground that one out, we had chances and they had chances"- Rider Head Coach Dr Barry Davis

- Poliey got the win by pitching five innings allowing five runs on six hits 
- Aiello pitched two and two third innings allowing one runs with one earned with three strikeouts 
-With the win the Broncs capture a top three seed in the MAAC Tournament

Broncs by the Numbers
- The Broncs finished with nine hits with Winsett, Skettini, Lesch, Tiroly Shepherd, Hartmann, and Kyle Neri (Williamstown, N.J. St. Augustine Prep Bryant) all recording a hit in the win.
- Tiroly and Winsett move their on-base streaks to 17 straight.
- Tiroly picked up his team-best 13 multi-RBI game after going 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
- Lesch moves his on-base streak to 44 straight games, RBI streak to six and his hit streak to 12 straight. 
- Lesch captured his 209th career hit moving him into sole possession of ninth all-time in program history.
- Skettini moved his hit streak to nine games

Up Next
The Broncs wrap up the regular season with a three-game series vs Manhattan starting on Thursday May 16th.