March 8, 2006 - Delaware 6 Rider 5
March 8, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Baseball
University of Delaware 6, Rider University 5
NEWARK, DE—Senior Bryan Wagner (Flemington, N.J./North Hunterdon) hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to cut the lead to 6-5, but that was as close as the Broncs could get at Delaware Wednesday. “Again, we’re right there,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis. “This was a good, competitive baseball game. We just got beat by a good team today.”
Rider (0-7) trailed 5-0 before scoring two runs in the seventh inning on two hits and a Delaware error, including an RBI single by junior Jeff Reynolds (Denville, N.J./Parsippany Hills). Reynolds had two of Rider’s six hits. “Reynolds swung the bat well today,” Davis said. “He was on base three out of four times, and the one out he made he hit the ball hard.”
The Broncs scored again in the eighth inning on an RBI single by senior Mike Poalise (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton), cutting the lead to 6-3. Poalise now has 11 hits in the first seven games of the season. “We bounced back,” said Davis, “ and we had our opportunities. The error cost us today. You can’t get away with any errors in close games, and we’ve had nothing but close games so far this year.” Rider committed just one error, which led to two Delaware runs in the fifth inning.
Freshman pitcher Jim Kennedy (Levittown, PA/Holy Ghost Prep) made his first collegiate start for Rider and allowed just three earned runs in five innings of work, striking out four while walking just one. “Kennedy threw well,” said Davis, “against a good team. Freshmen don’t usually fare as well against Delaware as Kennedy did today.”
Rider travels to Alabama-Birmingham, Mercer and Jacksonville State next week during Spring Break.
“We deserve better,” Davis said. “We should have won by now, but I like the fact that we’ve been very competitive, we’ve been in every ball game, and we’ve competed against good teams in every game.”
-RU-
