College Baseball Saint Joseph’s University 5, Rider University 3
Thursday, April 28, 2016
PHILADELPHIA, PA- In defense of their 2015 Title, the Rider Broncs lost to Saint Joseph’s in the Championship Game of the 2016 Liberty Bell Classic Wednesday night at Citizen’s Bank Park. “It was a good ball game,” said Rider head coachBarry Davis. “Hopefully we will benefit from this experience and maybe get back here next year.”
Rider (13-25) junior Lee Lipinski (Glen Arm, MD/Calvert) hit a two run home run, his fourth home run of the season, to give Rider a 2-0 lead in the first inning. “Lee had a big home run to start the game,” Davis said. The stadium tracker estimated the home run at 350 feet.
Saint Joseph’s (21-15) scored two runs in the second inning and two in the third to take a 4-2 lead. “We got eight hits, they got 10, but they picked up a few more with runners in scoring position,” Davis said.
Rider junior Mike Volaski (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) singled and scored on an RBI double by freshman Riley Mihalik (Churchville, PA/Chestnut Hill) to cut the lead to 4-3 in the fourth.
Volaski, Mihalik and sophomore Jake Bender (Ellicot, Md./Marriotts Ridge) each had two of Rider’s eight hits.
Two runs on four singles in the third inning gave Saint Joseph’s a 4-2 lead.
Saint Joseph’s tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the second inning on a walk and three singles.
The Hawks used eight different pitchers. “They threw strikes,” Davis said. “They made us put the ball in play.”
Rider used five pitchers, with the four relievers allowing just one unearned run. “We pitched okay,” Davis said. “Our bullpen was pretty good. We didn’t play poorly. We just didn’t hit enough.”
The Broncs defeated Villanova 6-2 in the 2015 Liberty Bell Classic Title Game.
The Broncs return to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action this weekend, hosting Siena in a three-game series beginning with a 12 noon doubleheader on Saturday. “Huge series,” Davis said. “We need to find a way to win some games.”