Rider Broncs softball

College softball team

Rider Broncs

University| Rider University
Head coach| Davon Ortega (7th season)
Conference| MAAC
Location| Lawrenceville, NJ
Home stadium| Herb & Joan Young Field
Nickname| Broncs
Colors| Cranberry, white, and gray[1]

NCAA Tournament appearances
1997, 2003
Conference Tournament championships
NEC: 1995, 1997
MAAC: 2003
Regular Season Conference championships
1992[2]

The Rider Broncs softball team represents Rider University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team currently participates in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), having joined in 1998. From 1978 until 1992, the team was a member of the now-defunct East Coast Conference (ECC).[2] From 1992 until 1997, the team was a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC).[3] The Broncs are currently led by head coach Davon Ortega. The team plays its home games at Herb & Joan Young Field, which is located on the college's campus.[4]

## History

[edit]

Rider has the unique achievement of having won conference titles in three different conferences. The first conference title came in the 1991 East Coast Conference season, winning the conference with a 10–2 record in conference play.[5] The second and third conference titles came in the Northeast Conference, winning in the 1995 and 1997 seasons.[6] The Broncs fourth and latest conference title came in their current conference, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, winning in 2003.[7] Since the expansion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament in 1994,[8] Rider has qualified for the tournament twice, doing so in 1997 and 2003. Despite winning the NEC in 1995, the Broncs were not automatically qualified for the NCAA tournament because the conference did not receive an automatic bid until 1996.[9]

In the 1997 tournament, Rider faced off against Arizona in their first appearance of the tournament, losing 11–2 via mercy rule in six innings.[10] The Broncs were eliminated from the tournament after losing to Arizona State by a score 12–0, losing again via the mercy rule in six innings.[11]

Rider qualified for the 2003 NCAA Division I softball tournament after defeating Saint Peter's 2–1 in the MAAC tournament championship game. Pitcher Heather Beintema was named MVP of the tournament.[12] The Broncs faced off against Cal State Fullerton in the opening game, losing by a score of 3–0.[13] The team was eliminated from the tournament after losing a 2–1 contest to San Diego State.[14]

In 2015, former head coach Patricia Carroll filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming she was fired for raising awareness about Title IX violations committed by the school's athletic program.[15] The lawsuit claims that men's programs at the university receive larger shares of scholarship and booster money, as well as having larger coaching staffs than women's teams.[16] In a period from 2011 until 2014, Carroll complained about the alleged violations to the school's Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Affirmative Action Robert Stoto. An outside consultant was hired by the university in 2013 and found the school to be in violation of Title IX, although Carroll's complaints continued into 2014.[17] As a result, the lawsuit claims Carroll was informed in 2014 that her contract would not be renewed following the 2015 season.[18]

### Coaching history

[edit]

Years  | Coach  | Record  | %

|
|
|

1978–1980[2] | Carol Knapp | 22–24 | .478
1981–1987[2] | Laura Darling | 119–97 | .551
1988–1994[2] | Leslie Craig Hagan | 208–102 | .671
1994–2015[2] | Patricia Carroll | 401–631–3 | .389
2016–2017[19] | Jaclyn Timko-Gabelt | 14–86 | .140
2017–present | Davon Ortega | 92–165–1 | .359

## Roster

[edit]

2024 Rider Broncs roster

Pitchers

* 13 – Anna-Marie Groskritz – Senior
* 8 – Jadeyn Merrill – Sophomore
* 1 – Jessie Niegocki – Senior
* 33 – Kathryn Schmierer – Junior
* 24 – Fallyn Stoeckel – Sophomore

Catchers

* 18 – Abby Cruz – Freshman
* 6 – Kristyn Gardner – Junior
* 35 – Kendall Reda-Fehsal – Freshman
* 31 – Amanda Royal – Freshman

|  |

Infielders

* 28 – Kiersten Buchanan – Freshman
* 16 – Olivia Burroughs – Junior
* 3 – Olivia Smith – Freshman
* 2 – Kayley York – Freshman

Outfielders

* 22 – Asiah Bell – Junior
* 19 – Amanda Cooper – Graduate Student
* 12 – Shelby Dyer – Freshman
* 26 – Maddie Luedtke – Sophomore
* 66 – Tristen Wren – Freshman
* 11 – Laneya Wright – Senior

Utility

* 17 – Alina Borota – Freshman
* 27 – Julia Harsche – Sophomore
* 40 – Chelsea Weatherford – Junior

Reference:[20]

## Season by season results

[edit]

Statistics overview  Season  | Coach  | Overall  | Conference  | Standing  | Postseason

|
|
|
|
|

Rider Broncs (East Coast Conference) (1978–1992)
1978  | Carol Knapp  | 5–10 |  |  |
1979  | Carol Knapp  | 6–10 |  |  |
1980  | Carol Knapp  | 11–4 |  |  |
1981  | Laura Darling  | 13–6 |  |  |
1982  | Laura Darling  | 12–8 |  |  |
1983  | Laura Darling  | 11–17 |  |  |
1984  | Laura Darling  | 19–21 |  |  |
1985  | Laura Darling  | 20–14 |  |  |
1986  | Laura Darling  | 20–15 |  |  |
1987  | Laura Darling  | 24–16 |  |  |
1988  | Leslie Craig Hagan  | 29–14 |  |  |
1989  | Leslie Craig Hagan  | 33–13 |  |  |
1990  | Leslie Craig Hagan  | 30–16 |  |  |
1991  | Leslie Craig Hagan  | 21–12 | 10–2 | 1st |
1992  | Leslie Craig Hagan  | 34–12 |  |  |
Rider Broncs  (Northeast Conference) (1992–1997)
1993  | Leslie Craig Hagan  | 26–17 | N/A | N/A |
1994  | Leslie Craig Hagan  | 35–18 | N/A | N/A |
1995  | Patricia Carroll  | 34–12–1 | N/A | 1st |
1996  | Patricia Carroll  | 24–22 | N/A | N/A |
1997  | Patricia Carroll  | 24–31 | N/A | 1st | NCAA Regionals
Rider Broncs  (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (1997–present)
1998  | Patricia Carroll  | 22–24 | 7–9 | N/A |
1999  | Patricia Carroll  | 19–33 | 5–11 | 8th |
2000  | Patricia Carroll  | 26–16 | 7–9 | T–6th |
2001  | Patricia Carroll  | 25–31 | 7–9 | T–5th |
2002  | Patricia Carroll  | 18–35 | 7–9 | 5th |
2003  | Patricia Carroll  | 24–25 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Regionals
2004  | Patricia Carroll  | 35–22 | 11–5 | 2nd |
2005  | Patricia Carroll  | 16–32 | 6–10 | 7th |
2006  | Patricia Carroll  | 24–28 | 10–6 | 3rd |
2007  | Patricia Carroll  | 11–36 | 3–11 | T–8th |
2008  | Patricia Carroll  | 12–34 | 4–12 | 9th |
2009  | Patricia Carroll  | 16–32 | 8–8 | 6th |
2010  | Patricia Carroll  | 16–31–1 | 8–8 | T–5th |
2011  | Patricia Carroll  | 9–37 | 2–14 | 8th |
2012  | Patricia Carroll  | 20–33–1 | 7–9 | T–6th |
2013  | Patricia Carroll  | 8–41 | 3–13 | 8th |
2014  | Patricia Carroll  | 6–41 | 3–7 | T–10th |
2015  | Patricia Carroll  | 12–35 | 6–14 | 9th |
2016  | Jaclyn Timko-Gabelt  | 8–42 | 5–15 | 10th |
2017  | Jaclyn Timko-Gabelt  | 6–44 | 1–19 | 11th |
2018  | Davon Ortega  | 17–33 | 8–12 | 9th |
2019  | Davon Ortega  | 10–44 | 6–14 | 10th |
2020  | Davon Ortega  | 1–10 | 0–0 | N/A |

Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic

2021  | Davon Ortega  | 17–20 | 16–18 | 7th |
2022  | Davon Ortega  | 28–25–1 | 11–9 | 4th |
2023  | Davon Ortega  | 19–31 | 9–11 | T–7th |
2024  | Davon Ortega  | 0–0 | 0–0 |  |
Total: | 856–1,075–4 (.443) |

National champion Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion

[7]

## See also

[edit]

* List of NCAA Division I softball programs

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Rider University Graphic Standards Manual and Editorial Style Guide (PDF). Retrieved April 16, 2016.
2. ^ a b c d e f "Season-By-Season Records". Rider University Athletics.
3. ^ "Northeast Conference - NCAA History". sites.google.com.
4. ^ "Facilities". Rider University Athletics.
5. ^ "Rider dedicates bullpen to softball Hall of Famer". Rider University. April 4, 2022.
6. ^ "NEC Softball History". northeastconference.org.
7. ^ a b "Softball Standings 1986-2022". maacsports.com.
8. ^ "WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org.
9. ^ "1996 RS (PDF)" (PDF). Marist College Athletics.
10. ^ "1997 Softball Schedule". University of Arizona Athletics.
11. ^ Archivist, Times Leader (May 28, 1997). "Rider University Freshman Heather Sonnenberg Has Completed Her Rookie Season On The Broncs Softball Team". Times Leader.
12. ^ "Rider Claims MAAC Softball Crown - MAACSports.com - The Official Website of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference". maacsports.com.
13. ^ "May 15, 2003 - Cal State Fullerton 3 Rider 0 - NCAA's". Rider University Athletics. 15 May 2003.
14. ^ "Softball Defeats Rider University, 2-1". SDSU Athletics.
15. ^ "New Jersey Softball Coach Sues University Over Her Dismissal". June 30, 2015.
16. ^ "Rider softball coach sues university over her dismissal". The Washington Times.
17. ^ NJ.com, Cristina Rojas | For (July 1, 2015). "Fired Rider University softball coach sues school over Title IX violations". nj.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
18. ^ "Softball coach sues Rider University over her dismissal". Press of Atlantic City. Associated Press. 30 June 2015.
19. ^ "Timko Hired as Head Coach". Rider University Athletics. 5 January 2016.
20. ^ "2024 Softball Roster". Rider University Athletics.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

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Rider University

Located in: Lawrenceville, New Jersey

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