Smith Homers Twice as Bobcats Fall to Rider

Friday, May 23

Pomona, NY

3:47 PM

Quinnipiac University

28-25-1

Rider

33-16

Quinnipiac

Rider

Photo by: Patrick Kraemer

5/23/2025 7:55:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

POMONA, New York – The Quinnipiac Baseball team dropped their first game of the 2025 MAAC Championships to the Rider Broncs, 8-5, on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Bobcats will move to the Loser's Bracket and will face the winner of the Marist/Sacred Heart game tomorrow, May 24^th, at 3 PM.

Christian Smith led the offense with two RBIs as he launched solo home runs in back-to-back at-bats. Kyle Garbowski recorded three hits, and four other Bobcats racked up two hits.

Sam Wright went 4.2 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits as he got the start for the Bobcats. Josh Lajoie and Jack Kabel combined for the final ten outs, allowing just two runs and striking out four.

SCORE
#1 Rider 8, #5 Quinnipiac 5

RECORDS
Quinnipiac (28-25-1, 17-13 MAAC) | Rider (33-16, 22-6 MAAC)
Winning Pitcher – Brian Young (9-0)
Losing Pitcher – Sam Wright (3-2)
Save – Zach Silfies (9)

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless opening inning, the Broncs struck first with a run in the bottom of the second inning to get on the board.

With a one-run lead, the Broncs added on in the third inning, launching a three-run home run to push their lead to four.

The Bobcats got a run back in the top of the fourth inning as Christian Smith launched a solo home run to the short porch in right to get Quinnipiac on the board. Rider responded right back in their half of the fourth inning as a run came in on a groundout to push their lead back to four.

Quinnipiac responded with a run in the top of the fifth as Cole Constable scampered home on a wild pitch, making it a 5-2 game. Rider responded once again on a sacrifice fly to push their lead to 6-2.

With one out in the top of the sixth inning, Christian Smith hit his second home run of the game, this time going over the left-field fence. The Broncs responded with another run in the bottom of the sixth to make it a four-run game.

The Bobcats kept fighting back as Johnny Knox got them within three in the top of the eighth inning with an RBI single through the left side. However, Rider responded once again with a run of their own to push their lead right back to four.

With the Broncs leading 8-4 heading into the final inning, Quinnipiac looked to muster a comeback. With two outs in the inning, Alex Irizarry punched a single to right center to score Sean McCulloch to make it a three-run game. Sebastian Mueller came up as the tying run and grounded into a fielder's choice as Rider held on for the win.

NEWS AND NOTES

Seven different Bobcats recorded a hit in the loss to Rider, and five different Bobcats recorded multiple hits in the win.
Christian Smith led the offense with two RBIs as he launched solo home runs in back-to-back at-bats.
Smith has hit 15 home runs this season and has driven in 66 runs, both leading the club.
Kyle Garbowski picked up three hits in five at-bats as he pushed his batting average up to .338 on the season, which leads the team.
Sean McCulloch, Alex Irizarry, and Johnny Knox each recorded two hits in the effort.
Cole Constable and Gabe Wright each had a base hit.
Sam Wright went 4.2 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits as he got the start for the Bobcats.
Josh Lajoie and Jack Kabel combined for the final ten outs, allowing just two runs and striking out four.
Lajoie and Kabel each picked up two strikeouts.

ON DECK

With the loss, the Bobcats will face the winner of the Marist/Sacred Heart game in the loser's bracket for a chance to move on. The first pitch from Clover Stadium is slated for 3 PM and can be seen on ESPN+.