By DOMINIC KEARNS

STAFF WRITER

The Rams continued their non-conference schedule against Wagner, Stony Brook, New York Institute of Technology, St. Peter’s and Sacred Heart with mixed results.

Fordham defeated the Wagner Seahawks 8-1 at Houlihan Field on March 5. Freshman pitcher Cody Johnson keyed the victory with seven shutout innings and continued his remarkable success. The offense scored in bunches, plating three runs in the first inning and five runs in the sixth frame. Senior Ryan Lee, junior Tim Swatek and sophomore Matt Cianci led the Fordham attack with two hits each.

The Rams then played four close games against the Seawolves, but cold bats doomed Fordham in three of the games. On March 9, Stony Brook held off a Ram rally to win 3-2. The Seawolves scored once in the second inning after freshman shortstop Joseph DeVito dropped a pop fly. Stony Brook then rocked Fordham senior Joseph Charest in the fourth with four singles in five at-bats. After the Rams fell behind 3-0, Fordham head coach Kevin Leighton replaced Charest with freshman reliever Brett Kennedy, and Kennedy halted the Seawolves’ onslaught. Nevertheless, Stony Brook starter Brandon McNitt stifled the Rams for eight innings, allowing just one run in the sixth when Tim Swatek scored from second base on a two-out single from first baseman Mike Mauri. The game looked like it would end 3-1, but Fordham benefitted from a two-out Stony Brook error to stay alive. Freshman Joseph Runco then halved the deficit with a single into left field, and the Rams loaded the bases before junior Rob McCunney struck out to end the game.

The teams split a doubleheader on Sunday March 10, with Fordham salvaging the second game by a 3-0 tally after losing the opener 2-0. Stony Brook benefitted from a Frankie Vanderka no-hitter in the first game, while Chris Pike had nothing to show for eight shut-out innings. Fordham’s best chance came in the seventh inning, when an error and two walks loaded the bases. Vanderka escaped trouble when Runco struck out to end the threat. Stony Brook finally broke through when Brett Kennedy allowed consecutive triples to start the ninth inning. After those two runs scored, Fordham had no response.

Game two belonged to freshman Joseph Serrapica, who held the Seawolves to just five hits in a 3-0 seven inning Fordham victory. Serrapica struck out six and benefitted from two key double plays. The defense committed no errors and played its cleanest game of the season. The Rams scored all three runs in the first inning, thanks to a flurry of singles. Matt Cianci and Runco led off with singles, and Cianci scored on a wild pitch. After Tim Swatek drew a walk, Ryan Lee capped off the rally with a  two-RBI single. Neither team advanced a runner past second base after the second inning, so Fordham cruised to the win.

Stony Brook hosted the final game of the series and used early offense to edge the Rams 3-2. The Seawolves lit senior Rich Anastasi up for two runs on three hits in the first inning. A two-RBI Tanner Nivins single punctuated the inning for Stony Brook, and put Fordham in an early hole. Stony Brook scored another cheap run in the third, when Joseph DeVito made fielding and throwing errors on a potential double play grounder. Instead of having two outs with nobody on, Stony Brook had runners on the corners with no outs, and they later plated the runner from third base. Fordham answered in the fourth when freshman Ryan McNally blasted a two-run homer to leftfield. Both pitchers settled down after that, and the Rams could not score again. Their best chance came in the eighth when Tim Swatek reached third base with one out, but Galiano’s strikeout and Edmiston’s flyout doomed Fordham to defeat.

“Well, they got some great pitchers, one of the kids no-hit us. They were a College World Series team from last year, and you’re gonna have to get quality hits in those games,” sophomore Ryan Carroll said.

The Rams recovered with two wins over the NYIT Highlanders on March 13 and 15. Fordham won the first contest 8-5 thanks to Charles Galiano’s four hits and solid pitching. The Rams started quickly with five runs in the first three innings. Five consecutive hitters reached base in the first inning, which led to three Fordham runs. The Rams made it 5-0 in the third frame, as Charles Galiano drove one run in with his triple and scored another. Fordham held a comfortable 5-1 lead in the sixth when junior starter J.C. Porter finally looked vulnerable. The Highlanders scored once and loaded the bases against Porter, which forced Leighton to call upon junior reliever Jonathan Reich. With the bases loaded, Reich struck out consecutive NYIT hitters, and preserved a 5-2 edge. The teams traded runs after this critical relief appearance from Reich, but the Highlander comeback attempts were thwarted.

Fordham rallied to overwhelm NYIT 8-3 in the second game and recorded a season-high 16 hits. The Highlanders amassed all their offense in the first inning, scoring three runs off Cody Johnson in the first. Meanwhile, the Rams only scored once on six hits in the first three innings and left the bases loaded twice. Fordham scored an unearned run in the fourth inning, but the Rams left two more runners in scoring position in the sixth. Rich Anastasi buoyed the Rams with six scoreless innings of relief, but NYIT led 3-2 at the seventh-inning stretch. After the stretch, Fordham exploded for five runs and finally finished the Highlanders off. Galiano’s triple tied the game, and Ryan McNally gave Fordham the lead with his crucial double. The Rams added three more runs in the inning and rolled to a triumph.

Fordham concluded its weekend with a St. Patrick’s Day doubleheader against the Sacred Heart Pioneers and St. Peter’s Peacocks. Sacred Heart blasted Fordham 9-1 in the opening game, at the expense of Chris Pike. The Pioneers led 2-0 after the first three innings, but they torched Pike for six runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Jesus Medina delivered a bases-clearing fourth inning triple for the Pioneers, and Victor Sorrento made it 8-0 in the fifth with his  two-RBI double. The Rams mustered only five hits and one unearned run in their worst home loss of the season.

Fordham responded in the nightcap for a thrilling 8-5 win over St. Peter’s. Each squad scored once in the third inning, but both offenses left the bases loaded. Fordham trailed 2-1 halfway through the fourth inning, but they then scored four runs. Two of these came on Chris Galiano’s clutch triple. Yet the Peacocks answered with their own two-out rally to tie the game at 5. Neither starter completed five innings, but Brett Kennedy provided quality relief for Fordham. The Rams scored two tiebreaking runs in the sixth when Ryan McNally tripled in a run and scored another. Fordham added a run in the seventh, and Kennedy shut down the Peacocks to complete the win.

“This week, we got a lot of clutch hitting, a lot of good pitching, and our starters are playing great. We should be able to get some victories, make the playoffs, and make a run … We played really well as a team. Dropped the first one today, but came back playing solid defense, hitting the ball, everything’s meshing together so we’re playing well,” senior Ryan Fedak said.

Fordham plays Hofstra on Wednesday, March 20 at 3:30 at Houlihan Field and begins league play this weekend at LaSalle.