By MATT ROSENFELD
SPORTS EDITOR
![Photo by Michael Rezin/The Ram Michelle Daubman is performing well both at the plate and in the circle.](https://69.195.124.217/~fordham7/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/softball-color-michael-rezin1.jpg?w=215)
After a 5-9 start that saw Fordham’s softball team fall in blowouts to teams such as Maryland, Mississippi State and Pittsburgh, the Rams have found their winning ways again and are currently riding a 10-game winning streak.
The start of the season was bleak. Fordham was playing tough competition and not faring well. Aside from wins over Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, Fordham was having no luck against the most difficult part of its schedule.
That all changed on March 3. Fordham kick-started its winning streak in grand fashion, defeating the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns in its final game of the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla.
“The Texas win obviously boosted our confidence,” head coach Bridget Orchard said about her team’s current winning streak. “A lot of it is confidence, and [the Texas game] showed that we could do it.”
After the big win, the Rams entered an easier part of their schedule. The team headed to Tampa to take part in the USF tournament. It was in Tampa that Fordham really showed its strength. In the first day of games, Fordham’s opponents were Central Michigan and Tennessee Tech; the Rams handled both with ease, allowing only one run combined in the two games.
Sophomore pitcher Michelle Daubman had a career-high nine strikeouts against Central Michigan while senior Jamie LaBovick gave an equally impressive performance against Tennessee Tech, tossing a seven-hit shutout.
Pitching continued to carry the Rams in the tournament. Daubman and LaBovick continued their success the next day, each tossing shutouts. Daubman was able to blank Western Michigan in a game the Rams won 1-0. Daubman only gave up three hits in the contest. The lone run came when LaBovick, the team’s other main pitcher, playing first base in the game, had a clutch RBI single in the top of the seventh inning that proved to be enough for the win.
Fordham had a much easier time against the Youngstown State Penguins. Junior catcher Gabby Luety hit a two-run home run in the third that gave the Rams the first runs of the game, and would prove to be all they needed. The Rams would pile on late, however, adding a run in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to secure the victory. The win put Fordham at 10-9 and over .500 for the first time since Feb. 23.
“Jamie and Daubman are our one-two,” Orchard said. “We can throw them both as number ones. Whenever they are throwing, we feel confident.”
Fordham has also made a few defensive changes that have helped stop opponent offenses. Senior Chelsea Palumbo, who started the year in left field, has moved to shortstop. Junior Elise Fortier, who had been at shortstop, is now back at third base. Sophomore Kayla Lombardo was holding down third base earlier in the season, but now plays at second base.
The rearrangement of the infield along with stellar pitching was responsible for a 34-inning scoreless streak the Rams had during their recent run of success. After four straight shutouts in the USF tournament, the last of which was a combined effort from Daubman and sophomore Taylor Pirone in a 4-0 win over Maine, the streak came to an end against Chattanooga, which scored in the fifth inning in its game against Fordham.
The end of the scoreless innings streak did not bother the Rams much, as they went on to beat Chattanooga 9-1 in five innings. Fordham flashed some power in the game, as Luety connected with two home runs while LaBovick and Fortier each had one of their own.
Fordham’s final out-of-conference tournament took place this past weekend at the James Madison Invitational. Riding a seven-game win streak going in, the Rams did not stop their run of success.
In its three victories over James Madison, Detroit and Binghamton, Fordham scored 43 runs, including an 18-run outburst against Detroit. The Rams’ offense continued right where it had left off, hitting 15 homeruns in the three tournament games, and a school record for home runs in a game when the team had six against Binghamton.
Fortier homered in every game, including a two home run game against Binghamton. Luety had two home runs of her own and had 10 RBI in the three games that the Rams swept. Fortier and Luety are tied for the team lead in home runs with eight apiece.
Fordham has a home run from every spot in the order except for the two-spot, which is a slap hitter, somebody who rarely hits big flies.
“They are all strong hitters,” Orchard said. “They are all powerful, but I really think that they feed off of each other. Playing tougher competition early on, facing a Texas pitcher, and then going to see a James Madison or a Binghamton, the pitching is going to seem a lot bigger.”
The Rams start their conference schedule on Friday, March 22, when they travel to Charlotte for the first Atlantic 10 competition of the year.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we can keep it going,” Orchard said. “We’ve been playing great the last 10 games, but they mean absolutely nothing this weekend.”
Fordham’s record is 15-9 heading into the second half of its season.