April 16, 2008

Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - Rider broke a 1-1 tie with an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning and the Broncs went on to defeat visiting NJIT, 8-1, in an intrastate baseball matchup Wednesday afternoon.

Rider, which rapped out 16 hits, got 12 of them from the three-man heart of the order--1B Sean Olson, 3B Mason Heyne, and LF Mo Williams, batting third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

The three were a combined 12-for-14 at the plate, with four RBI and four runs scored. Olson was 5-for-5, including three doubles, three runs scored and two batted in. And Heyne was 4-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Williams was 3-for-5.

Rider leadoff batter RF Jamie Hayes was 2-for-5 setting the table, with two runs scored and one batted in.

With the score tied at one and two outs in the bottom of the third inning, Olson doubled and Heyne followed with an infield single, before advancing to second on an error on the play, as Olson kept running an scored the go-ahead run.

Freshman LHP Patrick Devlin, the first of three Rider pitchers, earned his first college win with a six-inning effort that included five hits, one run, a walk and eight strikeouts.

Devlin (1-1) was followed by freshman LHP Mike Thomas and sophomore RHP Kris Brown, who combined to blank NJIT on two hits over the last three innings.

The starting and losing pitcher for NJIT was senior LHP Cory Kuzmik, who pitched three innings plus a batter in the fourth and was charged with six hits and two earned runs, striking out two without a walk.

Three Highlander reliever followed Kuzmik, with the last one, sophomore RHP Chris Parenti, working around an error to retire Rider without any other baserunners in the bottom of the eighth.

NJIT, which finished with seven hits--all singles--got six of them from the first four spots in the batting order. Cleanup hitter RF Rob Pietrocola was 3-for-4, leadoff man SS Miguel Lugo was 2-for-4 and DH Matt Schlitter, the team's most reliable hitter all season, finished 1-for-4.

The Highlanders got their run in the top of the first inning thanks to Lugo's speed and a timely two-out infield hit by Pietrocola. Lugo led off with a bunt single, stole second and then went to third on a ground out by Schlitter before Pietrocola drove home the run with a single to third base.

Rider, which tied the score in the bottom of the first inning and went ahead on the unearned run in the third, tacked on three runs in the fourth inning, two in the sixth and one in the seventh for the 8-1 win.

NJIT will be back in action this weekend, hosting Hartford at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium on both Saturday and Sunday. The three-game weekend series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch of game one slated for 3:30 pm.

The start of Saturday's doubleheader was moved to 3:30 from the original starting time of noon. Sunday's single game will begin at noon, as originally scheduled.