While many were off enjoying spring break, Fordham’s baseball team had a busy stretch of eight games, ending in Dayton, Ohio before returning to the Bronx for three more.
The Rams began by hosting Hofstra University on Wednesday, March 20. Fordham struck first, scoring one in the first inning. Senior Nico Boza doubled the lead with a solo shot in the second. The Rams doubled the lead again in the third after sophomore Daniel Bucciero doubled, stole third and scored on an error, followed by a solo home run from sophomore Tommy McAndrews. In the fifth inning, Fordham added six more runs, the big blows coming on seniors Chris Genaro’s bases-clearing triple and Ryan Thiesse’s RBI double.
After six shutout innings from Fordham’s pitching, Hofstra scored three in the seventh, one in the eighth and four in the ninth to make it a ballgame, but the Rams prevailed with the 10-8 win. Sophomore Aric Berg earned the win, pitching the first two innings and striking out three.
Following the win, Fordham had a three-game set with St. John’s University. The first of three was in Queens, where the Rams were shut out by a score of 9-0. Fordham had their fair share of opportunities, with eight hits and loading the bases more than once. However, they could not get that crucial knock to drive any in.
The second game was in the Bronx. It was a 0-0 pitcher’s duel through the first seven innings. In the eighth, freshman Matt Dieguez led off with a double and, three batters later, graduate student Andrew Kanellis drove him in with a single. Kanellis scored a batter later on a McAndrews double. St. John’s made it interesting in the ninth, scoring one and threatening for more, but Berg shut the door on the game for the 2-1 win. Freshman Koen Smith pitched the first five scoreless innings before Berg came in for the final four and earned the win.
The Rams traveled back to Queens for the final game against St. John’s. The Red Storm got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first, making it 4-0 by the fourth. In the fifth inning, graduate student Steve Luttazi put Fordham on the board with a solo shot. St. John’s retaliated with four more runs before Fordham tacked on one more in the ninth to end the game at 8-2.
The Rams next traveled to Long Island for a single-game series against Stony Brook University. The Seawolves took a 3-0 lead with runs in the first, second and fifth. In the seventh inning, graduate student Henry Pelinksi’s RBI single cut Stony Brook’s lead to two. The Seawolves answered with two of their own in the bottom of the inning. A nine-run eighth inning for Stony Brook put the game out of reach. The Rams scored two in the ninth but lost 14-3.
Now on a two-game skid, the Rams began Atlantic 10 games by traveling to play the University of Dayton. In game one, the bats came out hot for the Rams, scoring three in the first. Bucciero started the inning with a double, followed by a Thiesse single and Kanellis drove them both in with a double. Kanellis scored on junior T.J. Wachter’s double of his own to make it 3-0. Fordham extended their lead in the third with a two-run home run from McAndrews. In the fourth, Bucciero made it a 6-0 ballgame with an RBI single. Dayton scored two in the seventh before Fordham answered with two of their own in the eighth. The runs came on another Thiesse single and a Kanellis triple. The Rams put the game out of reach in the ninth with three more, winning 12-2.
More offense would follow in the second game of the series. Lutazzi started the scoring with a solo shot to lead off the second inning. After the Flyers took the lead in the bottom of the frame, the Rams tied it up on another solo homer this time from Bucciero in the fifth. Dayton’s offense broke out for six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it an 8-2 game. The Rams would score one in the sixth and three in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough, falling 12-6.
In the series rubber match, Dayton started the scoring off right away, scoring one in the first inning. The score would remain 1-0 until the seventh. From then on, it was a back-and-forth game. A Kanellis single and Luttazi double were both driven in on a McAndrews double to give Fordham a 2-1 lead. The Flyers retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run homer. The lead didn’t last long as Bucciero’s two-run homer gave the Rams a 4-3 advantage. Dayton scored another in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 5-4 ballgame. With the Rams on the verge of losing the series, Genaro delivered in the ninth with a run-scoring single. After, bonus baseball was in store with a 10th inning. Unfortunately, the Flyers scored one in the ninth for the walk-off 6-5 win.
After the Dayton series, inclement weather led to the cancellation of a single game scheduled to host Monmouth University. Instead, they would continue A-10 play with a three-game series against the University of Richmond in the Bronx.
The Rams jumped out front in the first game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first. The Spiders tied it up in the third and the score remained 1-1 until the sixth inning. In the sixth, Fordham’s offense broke out for three runs to take a 4-1 lead. Junior Cian Sahler and Pelinksi led the rally with RBI singles. Richmond cut the lead to two in the eighth, but the Rams got the run right back in the bottom half of the inning on a McAndrews run-scoring double. Fordham held on in the ninth to secure the series-opening 5-2 win. Senior Declan Lavelle threw 7.2 innings of work on the pitching side, striking out ten and only allowing two runs. Berg came on in relief for Lavelle and recorded the four-out save.
The Rams continued firing on all cylinders with another all-around win in game number two. Fordham put the pressure on Richmond early, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. Luttazi singled in the first run after the first three hitters loaded the bases, with the next three coming on a fielder’s choice, error and a groundout. A Kanellis RBI double in the second made it 5-0 Rams. The Spiders scored two in the third, but that’s the only damage they would do as Fordham’s pitching dominated from then on. The offense also continued to provide run support, scoring seven more times, one in the third and the rest in the seventh. The Rams had a combined pitching effort using five pitchers and only allowing those two runs, with only one earned. Freshman Brixton Lofgren earned his first collegiate win for his three scoreless relief innings of work in the 12-2 win.
Richmond struck first in the series finale, scoring one in the third and leading 1-0 until the seventh. In the seventh, Bucciero hit a go-ahead two-run home run for a Rams 2-1 advantage. However, that would be all the offense for the Rams, and the Spiders came back, scoring two in the eighth and three in the ninth to win 6-2.
Unable to end on a high note, Fordham went 5-6 over the 11 games. Their overall record now stands at 11-19 and a 3-3 conference record. The Rams will host one game against Columbia University on Wednesday, April 10, before continuing A-10 play with a weekend series at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
