Back from hiatus...with 2006 Rider baseball news!

With the Rider baseball team in second place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and within striking distance of first-place and perrenial conference power Le Moyne, I figured I would bring The Broncs' Tale back to life with some Rider baseball news.

First, the Rider baseball team is in Buffalo this weekend for a three-game series at Canisius. The Broncs (24-25, 16-6 MAAC) won the opener of Saturday's doubleheader, 12-7, and have a 6-0 lead in the second game, which was suspended in the top of the fourth inning. After that scheduled seven-inning game (since it was originally part of a doubleheader) is concluded Sunday at noon, Rider and Canisius will play the series finale as a full, nine-inning game.

This isn't official, but from a glance at the MAAC standings this morning it appears Rider can clinch one of four spots in the MAAC Tournament with a sweep of Canisius and losses by Marist and Niagara on Sunday. Rider has five MAAC games left, including the conclusion of the Saturday's second game at Canisius, and a series sweep in Buffalo would give the Broncs an 18-6 conference record going into next weekend's three-game showdown with Le Moyne.

By my count, should fourth-place Marist (13-9 MAAC), which plays its series finale against Le Moyne today, and fifth-place Niagara (12-9 MAAC), which opens a three-game series at Siena today with a doubleheader, lose today, neither would be able to catch the Broncs in the standings. That would guarantee a top-four finish for Rider and its first trip to the MAAC Tournament since 2002.

In other Rider-related baseball news, a pair of former hurlers for the Broncs are performing quite well in the minor leagues.

Richmond Braves (AAA/International League-Atlanta Braves) righthander Kevin Barry has rebounded from a few shaky outings to pitch well as of late. For the season, Barry is 2-2 with a 2.75 ERA in eight games, including six starts. He has allowed 13 runs—12 earned—on 33 hits while walking 17 and striking out 39 over 39 1/3 innings.

Barry has been dominating in his last two starts—both against the Toledo Mud Hens. On May 6 at Toledo, Barry struck out a team season-high 10 batters while allowing just two hits and three walks over six shutout innings. Then, on May 12, he nearly duplicated the outing by again tossing six shutout innings while allowing three hits and striking out nine.

Meanwhile, Delmarva Shorebirds (A/South Atlantic League-Baltimore Orioles) closer Jim Hoey (pictured) has been spectacular this season after experiencing setbacks as the result of an arm injury in 2004. The tall righthander is 2-1 with nine saves and a 2.30 ERA in 14 games out of the Shorebirds' bullpen. He has allowed four runs on nine hits while striking out 25 and walking six over 15 2/3 innings of work.

Hoey also was the subject of a feature written by Tim Brennan and published in the May 9 edition of The Daily Times (Salisbury, Md.).

A third player from Rider in the professional ranks is Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A/Carolina League-Atlanta Braves) outfielder Carl Loadenthal.

The speedy Loadenthal started the season with the Class AA (Southern League) Mississippi Braves, but struggled and was sent back down to Myrtle Beach, where he spent most of last season. Loadenthal, a non-drafted free agent signed by the Braves shortly after the June 2003 first-year player draft, had been a surprising success for the organization with excellent on-base and base-stealing skills. In nine games since rejoining the Pelicans, Loadenthal is batting .256 with one homer and four RBI while going 1-for-2 in stolen bases. He is doing a decent job of getting on base, however, with a .326 on-base percentage.

While with Mississippi, Loadenthal batted just .167 with one home run and four RBI in 19 games. He also stole five bases without being caught.

Photo credits: Kevin Barry (source: Richmond Braves); Jim Hoey (source: Matthew S. Gunby, The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md.); Carl Loadenthal (source: Atlanta Braves/Myrtle Beach Pelicans).