WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY – The top-seeded Rider University baseball team advanced to the MAAC Championship Series for the second-straight season and fifth time in the last six years, defeating third-seeded Fairfield, 5-1, in the winner's bracket championship at the MAAC Tournament Friday morning. The Broncs improve to 32-17 on the season, while the Stags fall to 29-22 on the year.
Rider opened the scoring in the bottom of the second.
Anthony Paskell (Solon, OH/Saint Ignatius) led off the inning with a single, stole second, and came in to score on a two-out single by Elliot Medlock (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack[Bryant]).
In the third,
Matt Leahy (Woolwich, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) led off the inning with a double. After a sacrifice bunt moved Leahy to third,
Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) drove in the run with a ground out. The Broncs were not done scoring in the inning though, as
Kyle Neri (Williamstown, NJ/St. Augustine Prep[Bryant]) stepped up and crushed a ball down the left field line for a towering home run to push the lead to 3-0.
Charley Magoulick (Arnold, MD/Dematha) led of the fourth with a single, then with two away
Peter Crespo (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) turned on a 3-1 pitch, delivering it over the right center field fence to extend the lead to 5-0.
In the fifth, the Stags loaded the bases with one out, and Rider turned to
Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford), who allowed just one of the inherited runners to score, minimizing the damage by getting MAAC Player of the Year Matt Bucciero to ground out to end the inning. Aiello settled in throwing the final 4.2 innings scoreless to preserve the win.
Quotes & Notes
"It's nice to win. This time of year, you can't concern yourself with the things that didn't go right. We walked a few too many guys, but we got away with it. Big hits by Kyle and Peter, especially Pete, because you know now, they can't beat you with one swing. Aiello comes in, and we wanted some length. We know he has good stuff, and once he got in a rhythm and was throwing strikes, it was exactly what we needed."
– Acting Head Coach Barry Davis
"You come out of the pen and you're just trying to get outs at that point. In the tournament, you're just counting outs and the heart rate's high, but I just leveled it a bit, throw strikes and limit the damage, and I just did the job. [Bucciero] is a great player, but I know I just need to challenge him. I can beat him with my stuff. I believe in my stuff, and the results were there. Last year we had this same opportunity and we lost. You don't get many second chances, but this year we got our second chance and we weren't going to waste it."
– Senior Pitcher Christian Aiello
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Kyle Batt (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) got the start on the mound, tossing 4.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits. He struck out four.
- Aiello earned the win out of the pen, his eighth. He allowed just three hits in his 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out seven.
- Magoulick extended his hitting streak to 18-straight games.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Seven Broncs recorded a hit in the game, led by three from Neri and two by Magoulick.
- Hartmann,
Nick Shuhet (Mountain Lakes, NJ/Mountain Lakes), Medlock, Crespo, and Leahy each had a hit in the contest.
Up Next
The Broncs will take on the survivor of the elimination bracket in Saturday's Championship series at noon where the Broncs will need to win once, while Rider's opponent will need to win twice to earn the MAAC Tournament Championship
