Lawrenceville, N.J. (May 1, 2026)—Mount St. Mary's rallied in each game in a doubleheader sweep at Rider on Friday afternoon to keep its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference playoff hopes alive. The Mount posted a 6-4 win in the opening game before rallying for an 8-5 win in eight innings in the nightcap.
Avery Dinges had three stolen bases for the Mount in the twinbill, breaking the school's single-season record. Dinges now has 42 steals this season to break Bridgette Gillano's mark of 39 set during the 2022 season. Dinges entered the weekend leading the nation in steals.
GAME 1: Mount St. Mary's 6, Rider 4
In the opening game, the Mount (19-28, 14-12 MAAC) scored three times in the top of the sixth inning to rally for a 6-4 victory.
In the top of the first, Dinges doubled with one out, and promptly stole third base. The steal gave Dinges 40 for the year, breaking Gillano's mark.
Rider (25-23, 14-12 MAAC) took the lead in the third when Kendall Reda-Fehsal hit an opposite field two-run homer. The Mount answered with three runs in the fourth to take the lead.
Janie Lofland singled and moved to second on an error, and
Sharon Manni followed with a bunt single to put runners on the corners. Manni then stole second, and
Kelsie Bandelow followed with an RBI bunt single to bring home Lofland. Bandelow moved to second on the play to put runners on second and third with one out for
Zoe Pachoca. Pachoca drove a ball to the fence in right-center field to bring home both runners on a sacrifice fly for the 3-2 advantage.
Rider pushed across two runs in the fifth to regain the lead, but the Mount responded with a three-run sixth to secure the win.
Emma Tawney reached on an error to lead off the inning. Bandelow then singled to left, with pinch runner
Maya Alvarez taking third and Bandelow second when the left fielder bobbled the ball. Pachoca then came through with a clutch two-run single for a 5-4 advantage. Dinges then doubled to plate Pachoca with an insurance run for the two-run lead.
That was all
Emmaleigh Zagrodnicheck would need as she set the Broncs down in order in each of the final two innings to close out the win. Zagrodnicheck pitched three scoreless innings of relief to pick up her fifth win of the year.
Dinges went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the win while Bandelow was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Pachoca went 1-for-2 with a season-high four RBI.
GAME 2: Mount St. Mary's 8, Rider 5 (8 innings)
Trailing by three runs in the top of the seventh with their playoff hopes on the line, the Mount scored three runs to tie the score, and added three more in the eighth to secure the come-from-behind 8-5 win.
Trailing 5-2 heading to the top of the seventh, Tawney led off with a double to start the rally. Manni followed with a bunt single to move pinch runner Alvarez to third. Bandelow then laced a double to left field to score Alvarez to cut the deficit to 5-3. Pachoca followed with a base hit to left to score Manni and Bandelow to tie the game.
Dinges led off the eighth inning with a base hit, and she stole second to put a runner in scoring position. Lofland then reached on a fielder's choice, and the duo pulled off a double steal to put runners on second and third with no outs. Rider got the first out of the inning when Tawney grounded to second and Dinges was thrown out at the plate. After Tawney stole second, Manni grounded to second, only this time the throw home was off the mark, and both runners scored for a 7-5 lead.
Tristin Koerner added an RBI double to give the Mount a three-run lead.
Ellie Meier, who pitched the final six innings in relief of Zagrodnicheck, worked around a two-out single to seal the win.
Rider had taken a 4-0 lead on a pair of two-run homers, one in the first and one in the second. Koerner finally got the Mount on the scoreboard with a two-run shot in the fifth before Rider picked up a run in the bottom of the fifth for the 5-2 lead.
Meier struck out six while allowing one run in her six innings of relief to pick up the win and improve to 7-6 on the year. Koerner went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBI while Pachoca was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Tawney went 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Dinges was 1-for-4 with two steals.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS: The Mount moves into a tie for seventh place with Rider in the MAAC standings with a 14-12 record, one game behind Siena and Sacred Heart, who are tied for fifth with 15-11 records. The top six teams earn a spot at the MAAC Championships which will be held at first-place Marist on May 6-9. The Mount can clinch a spot with a win over Rider tomorrow coupled with a Siena loss to Marist and a Canisius loss to Niagara.
UP NEXT The teams will conclude the three-game set with a single game at noon tomorrow.
