Broncs finish up homestand winning four of five over MAAC rivals

By Emma Geremia-Hartigan and Lindsay Scarola

Rider softball swept Niagara University in a doubleheader, winning game one 10-4 and game two 16-1 in just five innings. They continued the homefield momentum, pulling off two wins in their three game series over the Quinnipiac University Bobcats.

A cranberry sweep

In the first game on March 25, senior outfielder Maddie Luedtke hit a two-run home run and junior infielder Kiersten Buchanan added an RBI single to fight back against heavy Niagara offense. 

Keeping the momentum going, sophomore infielder Aspen Wheeler hit a two-run single, giving Rider a 6-2 lead. After that, the Broncs never let up. 

Luedtke added another solo home run in the fourth inning, while Buchanan drove in three more runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach. 

Niagara added a couple of runs late, but Rider held on for the 10-4 win. 

Rider wasted no time in the second game of the doubleheader, with junior catcher Abby Cruz setting the tone with a first inning grand slam, which sent Luedtke, sophomore utility Keegan St. Cyr and Wheeler across the plate and gave Rider a 4-0 lead. 

Luedtke followed with a run later in the inning, and St. Cyr added an RBI double to extend the lead. 

Cruz continued her impact at the plate with a sacrifice fly to bring in another run, while sophomore first baseman Emma Morgan singled home Luedtke, and Buchanan delivered another RBI single. 

Junior outfielder Shelby Dyer and Wheeler added hits to drive in more runs, pushing Rider’s lead to 10-0.

Hitting her second home run of the day in the fourth inning, Luedtke’s shot put the score at 15-1. 

Wheeler’s double later in the inning brought in another run, sealing the final score at 16-1 under the five-inning mercy rule. 

Bringing home the victory

The Broncs then hosted the Bobcats on March 28, the game remaining scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, where Rider trailed 1-0. 

After St. Cyr’s hard grounder hit, Buchanan slid into home plate to tie the game 1-1, where she collided with the Quinnipiac catcher, sparking an intense argument between the umpire and Quinnipiac’s        head coach.

“We had runners on first and third, and I knew my run was important with us down one,” Buchanan said. “Once I saw the ball get through, I took off.” 

After a moment, the umpire confirmed that Buchanan was safe, a call that immediately shifted the energy on the field. 

The game remained tight through the top of the seventh inning, with Quinnipiac briefly taking a 2-1 lead on a single. 

St. Cyr then responded with a sharp single to left field, driving in Luedtke to even the score at 2-2. 

With runners now on first and second base, Rodriguez reached on a misplayed throw by Quinnipiac’s baseman, allowing Luedtke to sprint home and give Rider the 3-2 lead. 

Sophomore pitcher Gabi Rodriguez, who had already pitched six strong innings, earned the win by going the full seven innings, allowing just two runs. 

“Gabi settled in really well and kept the batters off balance mixing different speeds and working on different planes,” Head Coach Davon Ortega said. “She was confident going right at their hitters and that’s what made her stand out.”

Offensively, Rider showed balance and depth, with multiple players stepping up when it mattered most. Luedtke led the way with three hits, including two doubles, while Buchanan added two hits and her game-tying run. 

On March 29, the Broncs had a doubleheader against the Bobcats, where game one fell  out of Rider’s control. 

Quinnipiac scored four runs in the second inning with seven more coming in the third. The runs did not stop there, as the Bobcats added two more in the fourth for a 13-run lead. 

The Broncs were unable to get their offense going, with the game ending after the fifth inning with Quinnipiac earning the run-rule victory. 

Game two was a different wave, as Wheeler and St. Cyr led off in the bottom of the first inning with    back-to-back singles. 

A Bobcat error loaded the bases, setting up Cruz for a two-run RBI double. Junior first baseman Kendall Reda-Fehsal then beat out an infield single, bringing in another run for the Broncs. 

A wild pitch advanced the runners, setting up Morgan for a single that drove the pair home, extending the lead, 5-0. 

After Quinnipiac got a run back in the top of the second, Wheeler led off the bottom half with a double. Luedtke singled up the middle, extending their lead to six runs. 

With two outs and a runner on, Cruz and Reda-Fehsal had back-to-back singles, bringing a runner home and adding another to the board. 

From that point on, not a single runner was allowed beyond first base until the bottom of the sixth, when senior pitcher Fallyn Stoeckel had a pinch-hit double.

Three batters later, Luedtke had another base hit to bring home the final run and the Broncs’ 8-1 win.

Rider will look to carry this momentum into their next matchups against the University of Pennsylvania on April 1. 

The Broncs will then take on Siena University on April 3 in the beginning of a three-game series, followed by a doubleheader on April 7 against Saint Peter’s University.