WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY – The top-seeded Rider University baseball team won its fifth MAAC Tournament Championship Saturday, falling to Fairfield, 12-7, before defeating the Stags, 6-1, in the winner-take-all Championship Game. The Broncs will advance to the NCAA Regional at 33-18 on the season, while the Stags end the year at 31-23.
The Stags got on the board first in game one Saturday, plating a pair in the top of the first. Rider responded in the third.
Will Gallagher (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) led off the inning with a walk. Then with two down,
Anthony Paskell (Solon, OH/Saint Ignatius) and
Charley Magoulick (Arnold, MD/Dematha) hit back-to-back singles to score Gallagher.
Nick Shuhet (Mountain Lakes, NJ/Mountain Lakes) followed with a walk to load the bases and the Stags turned to the bullpen.
Eliot Medlock (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack[Bryant]) and
Peter Crespo (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) both drew RBI walks and
Matt Leahy (Woolwich, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) capped the rally with a bunt single to extend Rider's lead to 4-2.
The Broncs added on in the fourth.
Kyle Neri (Williamstown, NJ/St. Augustine Prep[Bryant]) drew a one-out walk, then Paskell ripped a 0-1 pitch to the gap in left center for an RBI triple to make it 5-2. In the fifth, the Stags loaded the bases with one out and the Broncs turned to
Jake Dorety (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Twp.) out of the pen, who induced a double play ball to get out of the jam without any damage. In the sixth, the Stags would get a run back to trim the Rider lead to 5-3.
In the sixth, Neri drew a one-out walk and with two away, Magoulick doubled to drive in Neri and push the lead to 6-3.
In the eighth, the Stags scored nine runs on just three hits to flip the game on its head. Neri would hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Broncs would be unable to plate another run in the opening game.
In game two, Rider broke through first in the top of the second. Medlock and Crespo drew back-to-back walks with one out, then Leahy hit a ball deep into the hole at short. The Fairfield shortstop made a throw to third, but no one was covering the bag and the throw went into the Rider dugout, allowing a run to score. Gallagher then drove in a run with a ground out and
Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 3-0.
In the fifth, the Broncs added on. Paskell led off the inning with a single, then stole second. With one away, Shuhet singled to put runners on the corners, then a wild pitch allowed both runners to move up 90 feet, with Paskell scoring to extend the lead. Another wild pitch advanced Shuhet to third, and he would come in to score on a fielder's choice, giving Rider a 5-0 lead.
Paskell led off the seventh with a double, then advanced to third on a fly out. With the infield drawn in, Shuhet punched a ground ball through the left side to extend the lead to 6-0.
The Stags scored in the ninth on a sacrifice fly to end the shut out, but the Broncs got out of the final frame with no further damage to start the celebration.
Quotes & Notes
"Very excited to win, especially after we were unable to hold the lead in the first game to bounce back less than 30 minutes later in these conditions against a very good and experienced team, it's a tribute to this team, and PJ was phenomenal. It's been a long year for these guys, and they're truly deserving of the accomplishment."
– Acting Head Coach Barry Davis
"We were talking about it the last few days, and I figured there would be a chance I pitched again. I didn't think it was going to be seven innings, and I was just able to get ahead with the fastball and attack the zone. I was just trying to do my job and continue to do what I've done all year. It's a surreal experience to be able to go through that. We have a great group of guys, and such a big class, so to go through what we've all been through and do it together is really incredible."
– Senior Pitcher PJ Craig
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PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) was named the MAAC Championship MVP after throwing 16 innings and allowing two runs on just five hits with 12 strikouts, winning both games he pitched. He was joined on the MAAC All-Tournament Team by
Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford), Neri, Crespo, and Hartmann.
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Clayton Poliey (Ringwood, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) started game one for the Broncs, tossing 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, he struck out four.
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Jake Dorety (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Twp.) came on in relief and threw two innings, allowing one run on one hit.
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Jack Ruditzky (Teaneck, NJ/The Frisch School[Ithaca]) threw two innings of relief in game one. Allowing two runs on one hit, he struck out two.
- Craig started game two on just one day's rest and threw seven shutout innings, facing just one batter over the minimum, allowing just two hits and striking out six, to earn his second win of the tournament.
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Kyle Batt (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) entered game two in relief, tossing 1.1 innings, allowing a run on no hits, and striking out two.
- Aiello secured the championship's final two outs without allowing a hit.
- Magoulick extended his hitting streak to 20-straight games.
- Rider advances to the NCAA Regionals for the 16th time and first since 2023. In his 21
st season at Rider and his 36
th as a collegiate Head Coach,
Dr. Barry Davis led a Broncs team to NCAA's for the fifth time (2008, 2010, 2021, 2023).
- This is the fifth MAAC Championship for the Broncs, all under Davis, who ties former Siena Head Coach Tony Rossi for the most in MAAC history, and their 11
th appearance in the MAAC Championship Game all-time.
- The Broncs advanced to the College World Series in 1967.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Paskell led the Broncs with four hits across the pair of games.
- Shuhet and Magoulick each finished with three hits across the games.
- Leahy and Neri each finished with a pair of hits on the day.
- Hartmann and Crespo each had a hit on Saturday.
Up Next
The Broncs will find out where they will be playing in the NCAA Regional with the selection show airing on ESPN2 Monday at noon.
