Broncs blaze through doubleheaders winning five out of six
By Lindsay Scarola and Samantha Clark
Rider softball got back into Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, breezing by Mount St. Mary’s and Merrimack, and splitting games against Marist.
On April 9, Rider swept Mount St. Mary’s winning game one 5-0 and game two 18-4.
Due to the weather, the Merrimack contests went from a three-game series to a doubleheader. The Broncs swept them, winning game one 2-1 and game two 6-5.
Rider played Marist for a third doubleheader of the week, winning the first game but falling short in the second.
Sweeping Mount
Senior infielder Olivia Burroughs got things rolling for the Broncs in game one with an RBI single in the second.
She did not stop there and, in the fifth inning, Burroughs led off with a single. Sophomore catcher Kendall Reda-Fehsal followed with a single to put two runners on.
Sophomore infielder Kiersten Buchanan ripped a double to give the Broncs a 3-0 lead.
In the seventh, Reda-Fehsal put one out before freshman utility Shea Johnson scored off of senior catcher Kristyn Gardner’s RBI double.
Graduate pitcher Anna-Marie Groskritz had enough support to have an amazing outing, pitching a complete shutout game with 10 strikeouts, only allowing five hits without walking or hitting a batter but that’s not all. Groskritz reached 300 career strikeouts in the game.
“Reaching 300 strikeouts was such an amazing feeling. My teammates made it even more special by celebrating it like it was their own accomplishment,” she said.
Her teammates showed their love and support by surprising her with posters and celebrating this huge accomplishment with Groskritz.
The Broncs took game one 5-0.
In game two, the Broncs lit up the Mountaineers by scoring 13 runs in the first inning.
Buchanan’s grand slam made it a 10-0 game forcing Mount St. Mary’s to change pitchers.
After the pitching change, the Broncs added three more runs to their already big start.
The Mountaineers got one back to avoid a shutout but the Broncs added three more runs in the top of the second for a 16-1 lead.
Rider’s scoring capped after a successful double steal to score Gardner and an RBI sacrifice fly from Reda-Fehsal.
The Mountaineers tried to comeback as they added three runs but nothing could prevent the mercy rule, losing 18-4.
Home sweep
Groskritz was on the mound in game one on Sunday April 13 against Merrimack.
The Warriors got on the board first in game one after an RBI single in the top of the third, the only run Groskritz allowed in the game.
The Broncs scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Reda-Fehsal delivered a two-out, two-run single to score freshman outfielder Cami Johnson and freshman middle infielder Aspen Wheeler for the tying and winning run.
Rider took game one 2-1.
In game two, the Broncs struck first going up 1-0 but the Warriors tied it 1-1 with a solo shot to left.
Merrimack took the lead in the top of the third after a homer went over the fence for three runs.
The Broncs got two runs back after Johnson’s routine fly ball was dropped for an error causing a runner to score.
The lone error caused a merry-go-round of runs to score as Rider cut Merrimack’s lead to one.
In the top of the sixth, the Warriors had runners on the corners and a successful squeeze bunt going up 5-3.
The Broncs added three runs to take the lead 6-5, their first since the first inning.
Reda-Fehsal doubled down the left-field line to score Burroughs.
The Warriors threw a ball away trying to double off Rider, instead there were Broncs on second and third with one out.
Junior outfielder Fallyn Stoeckel singled home both runners to get the winning run.
The Broncs won game two 6-5 and swept the Warriors.
A win and a wash
The Broncs hosted the Marist Red Foxes to the Herb & Joan Young Field for two games to wrap up their double-header week.
Marist held Rider 4-0 in runs for the first three innings, scoring a home run at the top of the first and three more runs at the top of the third.
Freshman outfielder Cami Johnson responded and scored in the fourth with a single up the middle from sophomore catcher Abby Cruz.
Rider continued to load the bases, gaining six more in the fifth with runs from Johnson, sophomore outfielder Shelby Dyer, Gardner, Buchanan and Cruz.
Marist scored a couple more, but ultimately fell short, with the Broncs up 7-6 for their first game of the day.
The second game played out at a much slower pace, with both teams scoreless for the first three innings.
The Red Foxes hit four runs, scoring off of two home runs at the beginning of the third inning.
Despite the Broncs efforts, they fell short 4-0, breaking the streak in their week of wins.
Groskritz and Reda-Fehsal earned MAAC weekly honors.
Rider next looks toward a three-game series on the road against conference rival Saint Peter’s. The first games, a doubleheader, begin at 12 p.m. April 18.
