HAMDEN, CT – Kiersten Buchanan (Holly Springs, NC/Holly Springs) had four hits, scored three runs and drove in two as the Rider University softball team swept a doubleheader at Quinnipiac to wrap up the 2024 regular season. The Broncs took Game 1, 6-3, before winning Game 2, 9-1. With Saturday's results, the Broncs (23-26, 15-8 MAAC) clinched the No. 3 seed and an opening-round meeting with sixth-seeded Siena on Wednesday from Poughkeepsie, NY, at a time to be announced. The Bobcats concluded their season at 20-25 (9-15 MAAC).

In Game 1, the Broncs scored six unanswered runs to build a 6-0 lead through six innings. A two-run Kristyn Gardner (Perryville, MD/Perryville) double in the third scored Kendall Reda-Fehsal (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) and Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) to make it 2-0 Broncs. Rider then erupted for four more in the top of the sixth. Buchanan led off with a triple, before Maddie Luedtke (Gibbstown, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology) reached on a bunt single and Jadeyn Merrill's (Lamesa, TX/Lamesa) single to left plated Buchanan. After Shelby Dyer (Clarksboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) singled on a bunt to load the bases, Niegocki plated Luedtke with a single and Fallyn Stoeckel (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) walked with the bases loaded to push the Broncs' lead to 5-0. A Reda-Fehsal sacrifice fly pushed Dyer across to make it 6-0.

Two hits, two errors and a walk led to three Quinnipiac runs in the seventh, but the Broncs held on for the 6-3 victory.

In Game 2, Gardner again delivered a two-run double to open the scoring, plating Reda-Fehsal and Stoeckel in the top of the first. Luedtke followed with an RBI single to score Gardner, before a Merrill double pushed Buchanan across. Quinnipiac's lone run of the game would come in the bottom of the second, when Hannah Davis hit an RBI double.

But the Broncs kept the line moving throughout the remainder of the game. Reda-Fehsal doubled in Stoeckel and scored on a Buchanan single in the fifth to make it 6-1 Rider, before the Broncs scored three more in the seventh. Doubles from Stoeckel and Buchanan plated the first run, before a pair of hit by pitches loaded the bases and a wild pitch scored Buchanan. Consecutive walks from Olivia Burroughs (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) and Dyer made it four-straight free passes and pushed across the final Broncs run.

Notes
- Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) went the distance in earning the win in Game 1. She allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and three walks in 7.0 innings pitched. She struck out four.
- Kathryn Schmierer (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) earned the win in Game 1, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk over 6.0 innings pitched. She struck out one.
- Niegocki pitched the seventh in Game 2, striking out the side to slam the door on the sweep.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Merrill went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI's. She also reached on a hit-by-pitch.  
- Buchanan went 4-for-8 with a double, a triple, three runs scored and two RBI's.
- Niegocki added three hits, including a triple, scored a run and drove in another.
- Dyer, Luedtke and Gardner added two hits apiece.
- Dyer scored a run and had one RBI.
- Luedtke scored twice and drove in one.
- Gardner doubled twice, drove in four and scored a run.
- Stoeckel and Reda-Fehsal each doubled and scored three runs. Stoeckel also walked four times and drove in one. Reda-Fehsal walked twice and had two RBI's.
- Burroughs added a double and a walk.
- Reda-Fehsal ripped an RBI triple and also reached on a walk.
- Olivia Smith (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township) also scored a run.

Up Next
The third-seeded Broncs open MAAC Championship play Wednesday against sixth-seeded Siena in the opening game of the tournament, hosted by Marist in Poughkeepsie, NY. Time of the first pitch has yet to be announced. Stay posted to GoBroncs.com and MAACSports.com for all the latest information.