CULLOWHEE, NC – The Broncs split their doubleheader against Western Carolina this afternoon, kicking off the first game with a high-scoring battle that ended in a narrow 16-15 victory for the Broncs on Saturday afternoon.

Game 1
The Broncs evened the score in the bottom of the second when Charley Magoulick delivered a sacrifice fly to left field.

In the top of the third, Kyle Neri came through with a three-run homer over the left-field fence, giving the Broncs a 4-1 lead.

Rider put up two more runs to extend the lead to 6-2.

The Broncs' most dominant inning came in the fifth when they exploded for five runs on five hits, pushing the lead to 11-5 after the Catamounts had plated three.

Will Gallagher and Erich Hartmann added RBIs in the sixth, stretching the margin to 14-5.

Western Carolina made things interesting, responding with their best inning of the game in the bottom of the sixth, erupting for ten runs to take the 15-14 lead.

At the top of the seventh inning, Neri stepped up again, launching his second home run of the day to tie it up and send the game into extra innings.

Another RBI from Erich Hartmann brought Will Gallagher home, reclaiming the lead for the Broncs at 16-15.

In the final frame, Jake Dorety took the mound and secured the win for the Broncs, recording the final two strikeouts to close out the high-scoring battle.

Game 2
Rider's first run came in the top of the fourth inning when Charley Magoulick drove in Kyle Neri, who had singled to left field, for the Broncs' first run of the second game.

In the final inning, Peter Crespo made the most of his at-bat after coming in to pinch hit for Leahy. Crespo delivered a milestone moment by crushing a pitch over the left-field fence for his first career home run, providing a highlight moment for the Broncs late in the game.

Quotes and Notes
"We showed a lot of fight in the first game. It was a back-and-forth battle, but we edged out a win by coming through in the clutch and responding when they put up a big inning. In Game 2, we struggled on the mound, and credit to them—they threw strikes and played solid defense. Tomorrow, we have a great opportunity to split the series against a strong club, and we're looking forward to competing." – Rider Interim Head Coach Lee Lipinski

- Kyle Neri hit his first home runs of the season in game one of the doubleheader.
- Peter Crespo earned his first career home run.

Broncs by the Numbers
- In game one, the Broncs recorded 16 hits, with Tiroly and Sica each recording one.
- Magoulic and Gallaghereach earned two hits in game one.
- Hartmann and Neri recorded three hits in game one.
- Matt Leahy led the Broncs with a season-high of four hits. 
- The Broncs had seven hits in game two, with Matt Leahy, Joe Tiroly, Kyle Neri, Richie Sica, Nick Shuhet, and Griffin Puvel each recording one hit.
- Charley Magoulick recorded two hits in game two, along with an RBI. 
- Rider saw five pitchers in game two with Chris Montone, Kyle Batt, Jared Greenzang, Gavin Alloway, and Will Gallagher.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action tomorrow, Mar. 2, to wrap up the weekend series with Western Carolina. 
First pitch is set for 1 p.m.