May 14, 2006 - Fairfield 3 Rider 1 (MAAC Semi-Finals)
May 14, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Softball
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Playoffs
# 4 Fairfield University 3, #3 Rider University 1
FAIRFIELD, CT—The Rider softball season came to an end with a loss to host Fairfield in the consolation round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship tournament. “The kids played very well,” said Rider head coach Tricia Carroll. “They showed guts, heart and determination.”
All-MAAC centerfielder Jen Cullen (Lake Hopatcong) hit an RBI single with two outs in the seventh inning to give Rider it’s only run. “Even with two outs we believed we still had a chance,” said Cullen, who had five hits and three RBI in the three playoff games to earn All-Tournament Team honors. “Once we scored we really expected to come back.”
And why wouldn’t she? That is what Rider did best all year, come back. The Broncs began the conference season 1-5 and was 2-6 and given up for dead. “I had a meeting with the seniors,” said Carroll, “to say ‘This isn’t working. What do we do now?’ And the way we turned it around after that shows the type of kids they are.” Rider won the final eight conference games to make the tournament, and in the tournament eliminated the top seed and two-time defending champion, Canisius. “After that meeting,” Cullen remembers, “we re-grouped and began to just think about each pitch, each inning, each game, and the winning began to take care of itself.”
“You always want to win the championship, but those are hard to come by,” said Carroll. “In a different year if the result (10-6 in MAAC, third seed) was the same but wasn’t accomplished the same way (winning final eight), it certainly would not have meant as much as this did. We all learned a lot about ourselves and each other going through this.”
On Sunday Fairfield pitcher Cagney Ringnalda hit a two-run home run in the second inning to give the Stags (31-26) a 2-0 lead, and her pitching made the lead hold up, keeping Rider (24-28) off of the board for six innings.
Rider’s only other scoring opportunity was in the second inning with the bases loaded and just one out. “You have to give credit to Fairfield,” said Carroll. “We had people on base and they did a great job of shutting us out. This was a great game played on both ends. They just were a couple of hits better than us today.”
Rider junior Ashley Bolden (Brooklawn/Gloucester) collected career hit number 99 in the second inning, but hit into a fielder’s choice at third base in the seventh inning to end the game.
Rider senior pitcher Heather Beintema (La Mesa, CA/Grossmont) earned All-Tournament Team honors. Against Fairfield Beintema pitched a five hitter, striking out four. Beintema graduates with a Rider record 726 career strikeouts, along with a career pitching record of 65-44.
Senior Jill Carrabus (Bellport, NY) and junior Desiree Harbaugh (Frederick, MD/Gov. Thomas Johnson) also collected hits for Rider, with Harbaugh scoring the lone run after reaching base on an error. For Carrabus, it was career hit number 147 to crack the top 20 all-time at Rider.
Cullen graduates with 171 career hits, 13th most ever at Rider. “The entire Rider experience has been an awesome journey,” said Cullen. “From winning the MAACs as a freshman to this great comeback season.”
“I told the seniors at that mid-season meeting that when the season is over we want to be proud of what we did, and how we did it, and we certainly accomplished that goal,” said Carroll.
Marist, the second seed, defeated Fairfield, the fourth seed, 1-0 in the MAAC Title Game Sunday.
-RU-
