Baseball Shines at Home
The Rams are heating up as they get their first win streak of the season. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)
After a rough 0-12 start to the season, the Rams have finally turned a new page, taking four out of their last five games. The Rams started off their week strong with a definitive victory against St. Peter’s University, shutting out the Peacocks.
In their 11-0 victory, the Rams pitching was led by graduate student Dominic Cunha, who kicked off the first four innings, only conceding one hit, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts.
Things got underway quickly for the Rams with freshman Daniel Bucciero whacking an RBI-triple, scoring junior Ryan Thiesse before making it home to put the Rams up 2-0 in the first.
Deja vu struck the Rams as they repeated their RBI-triple in the second half, this time courtesy of graduate student Ryan Rockhill and a walk from junior Michael Taylor.
From there, Fordham was piling it on, as they scored two more runs in the fourth, making it 6-0 due to multiple pitching errors and a fielder’s choice.
The Rams brought their total all the way up to 11, with notable runs scored by graduate student Peter DeMaria, sophomore Ryan Meyer, junior Nico Boza and senior Will Findlay.
In addition to the dominant start from Cunha, graduate student William Simeone came in to relieve first, throwing two innings with one hit and four strikeouts. Shortly following was freshman Ryan Egan, sophomore Gannon Brady and junior Trey Maeker closed out with one scoreless inning for each of the relievers.
The five pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout, their first of the season and their first since February 23, 2022 against Sacred Heart University.
Next up on the schedule was a series against Quinnipiac University which was the teams’ first time facing each other since 2014. The two teams split a doubleheader during 2012, while in 2014, the Rams secured an 8-6 victory over the Bobcats.
The first game of the series was a nailbiter as Fordham overcame Quinnipiac in extra innings. Tough pitching courtesy of the Bobcats starting pitcher Jimmy Hagan, conceding no runs to the Rams in the first two innings.
The Bobcats made use of their strong starting pitcher by recording an RBI-double to kick off the first inning.
Freshman Tommy McAndrews came in clutch in the fourth for the Rams to slim down the deficit to one, but once again, the strong pitching stopped the Rams from scoring anymore until the ninth. Bobcats pitchers Ryan Hutchinson and Andrew Rubayo combined to toss six innings, allowing one earned run while recording five strikeouts.
In the ninth, luck struck for Fordham. McAndrews was back up at the plate with runners on the corners and was able to lift a sacrifice fly to score sophomore T.J. Wachter and bring the game to a stalemate at two.
Now up with extra innings, the Rams relied on senior Ben Kovel for relief. Kovel had already pitched two innings prior, however he struck out the side, keeping the Rams in for yet another inning.
Wachter would once again help his team as he hit a slow ground ball up to the third baseman, giving his teammate Thiesse just enough time to slide into home.
Saturday’s game was truly a pitching showcase, with the Rams starting pitcher Gabe Karslo doing his longest outing of the season so far. Going seven innings, Karslo surrendered six hits, two earned runs and three strikeouts, a much-needed strong pitching start for the Rams.
After Thiesse’s big slide into home the previous day, he proved himself yet again, making his way around the diamond after singling to make it to first. Findlay would also contribute a two-run double, scoring on a wild pitch for a 4-0 lead.
Fordham would not be handed an easy win as the Bobcats attempted to claw their way back to cut the Fordham lead in half, but the Rams stayed resilient, tacking on two more runs thanks to McAndrews and DeMaria.
Trouble spelled for Fordham in the ninth with Quinnipiac scoring twice to make it a 6-4 ballgame, but to no avail. The Rams were able to secure the series with the Saturday win, with Sunday’s game potentially giving them the sweep.
Unfortunately, the Rams win streak came to an end on Sunday, with a tough 3-2 loss to the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac struck first in the fifth, keeping it attainable for the Rams to get back in it with only one man scoring. However, as time went on, the Rams were not able to get critical runs on the board, giving the Bobcats the chance to strike.
Quninipiac made it 3-0 going into the bottom of the sixth, with the Rams finally getting on the board. The triple threats for the Bobcats all season have been DeMaria, Findlay and McAndrews and, once again, they all contributed to the Rams scoring efforts, bringing the Rams within one going into the last inning.
While the late ninth inning rally did not see through, the Rams season finally turned a corner from the tough losses they have been enduring. Now, with the rest of the season ahead, the Rams can finally take what they built upon in those wins and expand against more opponents.
In their last game of the week, the Rams traveled to Staten Island to take on Wagner College for a one-game series.
The game was neck and neck throughout the first eight innings, with both teams trading blows eventually ending at six runs a piece. Fordham busted through the six runs to score four more for a 10-6 lead.
With everything against them, Bucciero smashed a two-run double off the right wall to start off the scoring, followed by a DeMaria double, as he made his way home courtesy of a Taylor single, his third hit of the game.
When all was said and done, the Rams picked themselves up after losing the chance to sweep Quinnipiac and got back into the winning groove.
For the Rams, the Atlantic 10 matchups are quickly approaching, but with the way they have been playing, they’re sure to be just as threatening as ever for the rest of the league.
![Photo of Maddie Bimonte](https://thefordhamram.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/DSC_0810-600x400.jpg)
Maddie Bimonte is a senior from Raleigh, N. C. majoring in journalism and minoring in political science. She first joined the Ram writing for the sports...