May 19, 2006 - LeMoyne 10 Rider 4 / LeMoyne 5 Rider 3

• Box Score - Game 1
• Box Score - Game 2 

  May 19, 2006
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  College Baseball
  LeMoyne College 10, Rider University 4
  LeMoyne College 5, Rider University 3

SYRACUSE, NY--The Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader at regular season champion Le Moyne Friday, and Rider (25-29, 17-10 MAAC) finishes in third place in the conference. “Our goal was to get in, and we got in,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis, who guided Rider to the playoffs in just his second season. Rider last played in the MAAC tournament in 2002.

Manhattan (29-21, 17-9 MAAC) defeated Canisius 24-13 on Friday to take the second seed. “We figured we’d play Manhattan in the first round,” said Davis. “It probably doesn’t really matter who wears the home uniform.”

In the first game, the Broncs committed three costly errors and trailed 5-0 after two innings.  Freshman Jimmer Kennedy (Levittown, PA/Holy Ghost Prep) retired the first two batters before an error, a hit batsman and a home run gave the Dolphins a quick 3-0 lead.

Kennedy allowed four earned runs in five innings of work. “Jim threw fine,” Davis said.

Freshman Jamie Hayes (Sunrise, FL/Piper) had two doubles and two runs batted in and freshman Mo Williams (Tinton Falls/Monmouth Regional) also had two of Rider’s seven hits in the first game. “Mo swung the bat well, and Hayes has just been on fire,” said Davis.

Hayes, recently named the New Jersey College Baseball Association Rookie of the Year, leads the Broncs with a .375 batting average, and has 28 hits in his last 13 games.

Senior Mike Poalise (Hammonton) scored two runs in the first game.

Trailing 7-1, the Broncs scored three runs in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Hayes, an RBI single by Williams and a sacrifice fly by freshman Sean Olson (Vineland/St. Augustine Prep) to cut the lead to 7-4.

In the second game, Rider out-hit the Dolphins 9-8. “We had half of our hits in the third and fourth innings,” said Davis. “We faced two of the best pitchers in the league up here and we put some pressure on them.”

Le Moyne (36-12, 21-5 MAAC) manufactured a run in the second inning on a single, a stolen base, and a pair of ground ball outs. “Give them credit, they’re a good ball club,” said Davis. “They deserve to be the top seed. They made every play today. They are clearly the best team in the MAAC.”

Rider tied the score at 1-1 in the fourth inning when junior Scott Knazek (Browns Mills/Pemberton) singled and Hayes hit his third double of the day. Knazek scored on a ground out by senior Gene Crimoli (Shrewsbury/Christian Brothers Academy).

The Broncs cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth inning with two runs on four hits, the biggest hit an RBI single by Knazek.

Hayes and Knazek combined for five of Rider’s nine hits in the second game, and junior Jeff Reynolds (Denville/Parsippany Hills) also had two hits.

Rider will now play the second seed, Manhattan in the first round of the MAAC Championship Tournament, May 25 in Fishkilll, NY. Le Moyne is the top seed. Tournament host Marist and Niagara are still fighting for the fourth and final spot. Both are 16-10, and Niagara finishes the regular season with a single game against Saint Peter’s Saturday. The official pairings and tournament game times will be announced by the MAAC on Monday.

-RU-