LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Sacred Heart University baseball team dropped the third and final game of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series to Rider on Saturday afternoon, 2-10.
 
Records
SHU: 18-20 (11-10 MAAC)
Rider: 24-10 (15-5 MAAC)
 
Pitching
Ryan Parker (L, 2-4): 4 R (3 ER), 9 H, 2 BB, 2 SO
Mitch Hawkins: 1.0 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 0 BB, 1 SO
Jonathan Peterson: 1.0 IP, 3 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 BB
Chris Mazza: 0.1 IP, 1 R (1 ER), 1 H, 2 BB
Lou Stallone: 1.2 IP  1 R (1 ER), 1 H, 1 SO
 
Hitting
Gavin Donohue: 2 H, 1 R
Peter Link: 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI
 
How it Happened
Despite a gritty showing from sophomore Peter Link, the Sacred Heart baseball team could not halt a hot-hitting Rider squad in Sunday's series finale, falling 10-2.
 
Rider came out swinging, plating two runs in the top of the first to set the tone early. But the Pioneers quickly answered in the second, sparked by Link's hustle. Leading off the inning with a single, Link swiped second and third. He manufactured a run by racing home on an errant pick-off attempt by the Rider to cut the deficit in half.
 
Both teams went quiet over the next few frames, until the fifth inning tilted the game back toward the Broncs. Rider strung together a bases-loaded single that cleared the bags, aided by a Pioneer fielding miscue, to stretch their lead.
 
The sixth inning saw more defensive trouble for SHU, as a trio of errors helped the Broncs tack on additional insurance runs. Though none of the sixth-inning runs were earned, Rider held an 8-1 advantage. They tacked on another in the seventh with an RBI single to the right side.
 
The Pios continued to scrap in the late innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Link plated Gavin Donohue with a fielder's choice to make it 9-2. 
 
Rider capped the scoring with a solo homer in the top of the eighth to seal the 10-2 result.
 
Up Next
SHU will return home to face Bryant at Veterans Park on Wednesday, April 23, at 3 p.m.