GAINESVILLE, FL – The fourth-seeded Rider University baseball team was defeated Friday, falling at top-seeded and eighth overall seed Florida in the opening game of the Gainesville Regional. The Broncs fall to 33-19 on the season, while the Gators improve to 40-19.
The Gators got on the board first with a home run on the first Rider pitch of the game. The Broncs then settled in retiring seven-straight batters. Florida would add single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth to take a 4-0 lead.
The Broncs finally broke through in the eighth.
Peter Crespo (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) drew a walk to start the inning, then
Will Gallagher (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) drew a one-out walk and
Kyle Neri (Williamstown, NJ/St. Augustine Prep[Bryant]) walked with two away to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate.
Anthony Paskell (Solon, OH/Saint Ignatius) delivered, driving a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left to tie the game.
Charley Magoulick (Arnold, MD/Dematha) kept the inning going with a double to left and
Nick Shuhet (Mountain Lakes, NJ/Mountain Lakes) gave Rider its first lead of the game with a ball to right center that carried beyond the fence, putting Rider on top 6-4.
The Gators quickly countered with three in the bottom of the eighth. With one out in the top of the ninth,
Matt Leahy (Woolwich, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) turned on a 3-2 pitch, tying the game at 7-7. Florida would win the game with a walk-off home run for the first batter in the bottom of the ninth.
Quotes & Notes
"It was a big challenge. We knew that coming in, and the magnitude of the game didn't bother us. It certainly didn't bother our pitcher, and he's been doing that the last couple of weeks for us. He gives up a home run first pitch, and doesn't blink. I'm proud of the way our guys battled, and we just weren't able to close it out."
– Acting Head Coach Barry Davis
"We've been here before, I've been here, PJ pitched in the Conway Regional at Coastal. We've played big teams like Duke, ECU, St. John's, so we just don't let it affect us. We're just here for each other, experience all of this together as a group. It's fun being here with everyone."
– Senior Outfielder Anthony Paskell
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PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) got the start for the Broncs, throwing seven innings and allowing four runs on eight hits, striking out two.
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Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford) tossed an inning, and allowed four runs on four hits, striking out one and taking the loss.
- Magoulick extended his hitting streak to 21-straight games.
- Paskell's home run is his seventh of the season and 12
th of his career.
- Shuhet home run is his sixth of the year and 14
th of his career.
- Leahy's home run is his first of the season, and third of his career.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Magoulick, Shuhet, and Leahy each had two hits on the day to lead the Broncs.
- Paskell also had a hit in the contest.
Up Next
The Broncs will face an elimination game Saturday at 1 p.m. against either Miami or Troy.
