Fordham Baseball followed up a 4-1 spring break with a perfect 4-0 week, including a weekend series sweep.
The Rams began the week with an extra-inning 6-4 win against the Wagner College Seahawks. After two scoreless innings, a pair of RBI singles from senior Cian Sahler and sophomore Madden Ocko in the third and fourth innings gave Fordham a lead of 2-0. Wagner then cut the lead to 2-1, and it stayed that way until the seventh when a two-run double gave the Seahawks a 3-2 advantage. The Rams responded very quickly, manufacturing a run after freshman Taylor Kirk led off with a walk, advanced to third on Sahler’s single and scored on junior Daniel Bucciero’s sacrifice fly to tie the game.
The two teams traded RBI singles in the eighth to make it 4-4. In the eleventh inning, Fordham scored with two RBI walks to win the game 6-4. It was a bullpen effort from the Rams, as seven pitchers combined to throw 11 innings. Sophomore Keon Smith pitched the final three innings, allowing no runs and striking out five to win his second game of the year.
A weekend series down south at the University of Richmond Spiders followed for Fordham. In game one, the Rams rallied from down 8-4 to win 13-9. A first-inning three-run shot off the bat of freshman Anthony Grabau, his first home run of his collegiate career, put Fordham up early. Richmond countered with solo shots in the bottom of the first and third innings and tied the game at three in the fourth, later taking a 6-3 lead after three runs in the fifth inning. Kirk made it a 6-4 ballgame with a solo home run in the seventh before Richmond re-extended the lead in the bottom of the frame to 8-4.
With the Rams now down four, the offense exploded for nine runs in the ninth inning. Freshman Chase Hanawalt began the rally with a walk and scored a batter later on junior Tommy McAndrews’ two-run homer to make it an 8-6 ballgame. Two singles and a fielder’s choice followed to load the bases with no outs for Bucciero who singled home a runner. Fordham took a 9-8 lead with graduate student Andrew Kanellis’ two-run single, who later scored on a wild pitch. The big inning was capped by the man who started it, Hanawalt, as he blasted a three-run home run to center, his first home run of his collegiate career. The Spiders gained one run back in the bottom of the ninth, but the Rams held on for the 13-9 comeback victory.
The Rams’ bats carried the momentum into the second game of the series, defeating Richmond 15-11. The tandem of Bucciero and McAndrews opened the game with an RBI double and two-run single for an early 3-0 advantage. By the end of the fourth inning, the Rams had extended the lead to 11-1 after eight straight runs, bookended by a Kanellis two-run shot in the third and sophomore Matt Dieguez’s three-run homer in the fourth inning.
Richmond responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Fordham answered fast. Freshman outfielder Tommy Markey clocked his first career home run to make it 12-4. The Spiders added four more in the fifth, but the Rams once again responded promptly with three runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a second Kanellis homer and a two-run double off the bat of graduate student Jack Brennan for a 15-8 lead. Richmond came within four in the eighth inning, but senior Gannon Brady nailed down the win in the ninth.
The third and closing game of the series featured even more offensive fireworks, with Fordham once again outslugging the Spiders 21-18. Similarly to the first two, the game began with the Rams putting up a three-spot in the first inning, including back-to-back solo home runs from Sahler and Bucciero. In the second inning, Bucciero continued his hot hitting with an RBI double, before Grabau blasted a three-run home run to make it 7-0. By the end of the fourth inning, Fordham extended the lead to 13-0 thanks to two more singles and a three-run home run from Bucciero, his second of the day.
A seven-run fifth inning by Richmond cut the Rams’ lead to 13-7, but by the ninth inning, the score sat at 21-10, thanks in part to three more home runs from Sahler, Dieguez and Ocko. Richmond made it interesting, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the ninth, but Fordham prevailed to hang on to the 21-18 win.
In the Richmond series, the Rams scored 49 total runs, with 55 scored over the entire week. Their four wins in a row brings Fordham back to an even .500 at 14-14 while improving to 7-2 in conference play. Next up, the Rams will take on the Davidson Wildcats in another Atlantic 10 series, this time at home in the Bronx.
