The Fordham men’s baseball team keeps on rolling as they romped against Seton Hall University and Hartford University this past week. The Rams steadily improved their record to 11-14, entering a five-game win streak.

Against the Seton Hall Pirates, the Rams were led by senior Zach Selinger, where in the second inning, the senior opened up the scoring blasting a three-run home run. Selinger has totaled four home runs this season.

Seton Hall battled back to cut the deficit down to one heading into the third, but Fordham would not concede easily. Junior Michael Taylor delivered a strong double down the left field line, bringing home two Rams in Selinger and freshman Tommy McAndrews.

Graduate student infielder Peter DeMaria had to get in on the action, locking down a victory for the Rams by delivering his own solo home run blast. While the Rams’ pitching got into a jam, they were able to deal with the rest of the lineup, with a 6-5 finish as they headed into game two of the double header for the day.

Junior Declan Lavelle got his start on the mound for the Rams in game two, keeping things locked down over five innings, only conceding two runs.
On the offensive front, the Rams jumped to it in the second inning with a McAndrews double to bring home DeMaria. Fordham made use of the sloppy pitching from the Pirates by piling it on with singles from juniors Nico Boza and Ryan Thiesse.

From then on, it was all Pirates offense as the Rams took a backseat. Seton Hall was able to put up the tying run in the eighth, and then took the lead for the first time all game, 4-6.

But the Rams hero of the day was once again Selinger as he delivered a grand slam walk-off home run after the Rams made it 5-6, thanks to a Sahler bunt to advance the runners.

With a final score of 9-6, the Rams offensive powers were absolutely dominant across the two games, and with the final game up for grabs for the sweep, the Rams weren’t slowing down yet.

Game three on Sunday was a game of tons of excitement as both teams showed their hitting abilities at the plate.

After Seton Hall’s Viera reached base on a fielder’s choice, scoring a run, the Rams were all over the diamond, starting off strong with DeMaria whacking a ball out to left field, and reaching first as the left fielder dropped the ball.

DeMaria made his way home when senior Will Findlay had a strong double down the left field line. The Pirates would keep it neck and neck, consistently making the runs back up to keep the game level. Yet the Rams were dominant with the home run ball, as both McAndrews and Findlay recorded homers in the second and third innings.

The Pirates would also get their shot at the long ball, driving one out to right center field before exploding in the eighth inning. Seton Hall managed to put up four runs, on consistent singles through the gap and one double, taking the lead 8-6.

Fordham retaliated in the eighth with the Pirates’ pitching falling apart, allowing sophomore Sebastian Mexico to bring in a single and advancing based on a pitchers throwing error. Junior Chris Genero, who reached base on a walk, made it home on a wild pitch courtesy of Seton Hall’s relief pitcher Jay Allmer.

The Rams won the rubber match 11-8, extending their win streak heading into their final game of the week against Hartford on Tuesday.
The Hawks jumped to the opportunity first in the fourth inning, going up by three runs. But they wouldn’t be able to surpass those three runs for the rest of the game, giving the Rams the opportunity to pull ahead.

Later in the fourth inning, the Rams came out with a vengeance after graduate student Ryan Rockhill walked with the bases loaded, scoring freshman Daniel Bucciero.

Next up, Mexico delivered a grand slam home run to send the Rams surging forward with five total runs.

The Rams were much more consistent at the plate against the Hawks, with eight hits and only six strikeouts over nine innings.

Fordham now sits on a five-game winning streak, the longest of the season so far. Next up is a new challenge for the Rams: Atlantic 10 play. That opens up on Saturday with the first division matchup against Davidson University, before returning home for an out-of-conference game against Siena College. Against Davidson, the first game of the doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday.