LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider baseball team opened home play with a 7-3 victory over Saint Joseph's on Tuesday afternoon at Sonny Pitarro Field.

The Broncs struck early, plating three runs in the first inning. Joe Tiroly got things started with an RBI double to left-center, bringing in the first run. Kyle Neri followed with an RBI groundout to second, scoring Erich Hartmann. Tiroly then crossed the plate on a wild pitch, giving Rider a 3-0 lead.

In the second inning, Griffin Puvel extended the lead, launching a solo home run over the left-center wall to make it 4-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Neri made an impressive diving catch in left field, denying Saint Joseph's their first hit of the game. 

Gavin Hawkes relieved Kyle Batt at the top of the sixth after pitching 5.0 innings, allowing no runs, no hits and earning five strikeouts. 

Saint Joseph's recorded its first hit in the seventh on an Owen Petrich single. Rider quickly responded in the bottom half, as Peter Crespo led off with his second home run of his freshman season, pushing the lead to 5-0.

The Hawks got on the board in the eighth with a Jack Saker RBI single, cutting the deficit to 5-1. 

Rider answered with two more runs without a hit in the bottom of the inning—Neri scored on a fielder's choice, and Nick Shuhet came home on a failed pickoff attempt by the Hawks first baseman, extending the lead to 7-1.

Saint Joseph's managed two runs in the ninth but fell short, sealing a 7-3 win for the Broncs.

Quotes and Notes
"Today, it started on the mound. Kyle threw strikes, he attacked, and he competed. When you go out there and set the tone first on the mound, everyone feeds off that. We're hitting just enough, and we're getting timely hits that we're able to get out ahead and hold the lead. Today is as good as I've ever seen Kyle throw. He was throwing hard, and his off-speed was sharp. He was able to battle back when he fell behind, and that was key for him. Kyle kept the momentum going for us.

We got a bunch of guys in our lineup that's showing the ability to hit home runs. We're trying to be offensive when we're on offense." – Rider Interim Head Coach Lee Lipinski

"It was awesome today. First college start, and it was a lot of fun. I thought I threw the ball well and competed well. High school to college is very different. Everybody is good at this level, so it's way different. Once the nerves and adrenaline wore off in the second inning, I knew I was getting into a groove." – Kyle Batt 

- Crespo and Puvel each have two home runs this season, tying them with Neri for the second-most on the team.
- Kyle Batt earned the win for the Broncs
- It was the Broncs' first win over the Hawks since 2015.

Broncs by the Numbers
- The Broncs recorded three hits in the victory with Tiroly, Puvel and Crespo each earning a single hit.
- Tiroly, Crespo, Neri, and Puvel each earned an RBI in the win.
- Gavin Hawkes pitched 3.0 innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, and four strikeouts. 
- Colby McNeely closed the game out for the Broncs, pitching 1.0 inning, allowing one hit, and two earned runs. 

Up Next
The Broncs return to action on Mar. 7 when they travel to Saint Peter's to take on the Peacocks in a three-game weekend series.