FAIRFIELD, CT – The Rider University softball team swept a doubleheader at Fairfield Friday, taking game one 6-3, before winning game two, 8-5. The Broncs improve to 24-19 on the season and 14-9 in MAAC play, while the Stags fall to 23-22 on the year and 15-7 in league games.
The Broncs got off to a hot start in game one.
Aspen Wheeler (Lampasas, TX/Lampasas) hit the game's first pitch to center for a single then
Keegan St. Cyr (Hopkinton, NH/Hopkinton) drew a four-pitch walk. Two batters later,
Kendall Reda-Fehsal (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) singled home Wheeler to stake the Broncs to a 1-0 lead.
Neither side would advance a runner beyond second base until the top of the fifth.
Melissa Purcella (Albuquerque, NM/Albuquerque Academy) would lead off the fifth with a double, and was then sacrificed to third. Two batters later, with runners on the corners,
Gabi Rodriguez (Chula Vista, CA/Olympian) hit an RBI single to right and Reda-Fehsal would follow with another RBI single to right, extending the lead to 3-0.
Fairfield broke through, scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth and another in the bottom of the sixth. Rider would get needed insurance in the top of the seventh. St. Cyr drew a one-out walk, then Rodriguez reached on an error. Reda-Fehsal, the reigning MAAC Player of the Week, stayed hot, delivering a three-run home run over the right field fence. The runs would be key as Fairfield scored one in the bottom of the seventh, but the Broncs closed out the contest without allowing any further damage.
In game two, the Broncs would again get the early lead. Rodriguez hit a two-out single in the top of the first. After a Stag error extended the inning,
Abby Cruz (Corona, CA/Santiago) singled home a run to make it 1-0. This time, Fairfield would quickly counter, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. The score remained there until Fairfield added a run in the fifth.
Rider would come back in the top of the sixth. Reda-Fehsal led off the inning with a single, then Cruz drew a walk. Purcella followed with an RBI single to trim the deficit to 5-2.
Kiersten Buchanan (Holly Springs, NC/Holly Springs) hit a sacrifice fly to score Cruz.
Emma Morgan (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) then singled to drive in Purcella and cut the Stag lead to 5-4.
Sydney Savatt (Pittsburgh, PA/Avonworth) and Wheeler drew walks to load the bases with still just a single out, and St. Cyr gave the Broncs the lead with a two-run single.
Rider added on in the seventh. Cruz led off the inning with a single, and two batters later, Buchanan reached on an error.
Fallyn Stoeckel (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) walked to load the bases, then with two away, Wheeler singled to right, driving in two and the Broncs would go on to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Quotes & Notes
- Rodriguez started game one, tossing six innings, allowing just two runs on five hits to earn the win.
- Stoeckel tossed the final inning in game one, allowing a run before completing the game, then started game two in the circle, tossing all seven innings in the night cap, allowing five runs, two earned, on nine hits to get the win in the second game.
- Reda-Fehsal's home run was her MAAC-leading 11
th of the season, and 23
rd of her career.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Reda-Fehsal led Rider with five hits across the pair of games.
- Wheeler had a pair of hits in each game of the doubleheader.
- Purcella finished with three hits and Rodriguez and Cruz both added a pair of hits on the day.
- St. Cyr, Buchanan, Morgan, and Savatt each had a hit in the pair of games.
Up Next
The Broncs are back in action Sunday for the final game of the three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
