After having a rather up-and-down start to their season, the Fordham softball team sought to right the ship in the warm waters of the Pacific this past weekend, heading out west to California in order to compete in the highly competitive Silicon Valley Classic.
The first of the Ram’s five games in the tournament would be a matchup under the hot California sun against the Wolfpack of the University of Nevada: a highly talented squad that entered the game boasting an undefeated record. The Wolfpack would also unfortunately leave the game with their undefeated record still intact, crushing Fordham 7-1 by playing ball the old fashioned way: with clever base running (Nevada had a whopping six stolen bases on the day), long rallies full of base hits (not a single one of their 10 hits was a homerun) and a stellar complete game pitching performance from graduate student Carley Brown. Yet, despite this all-around stellar and dominating performance by Nevada, the Rams did indeed have a bright spot to build upon amidst this tough loss, with junior catcher Sydney Wells opening her homerun total for the season by sending one over the fence in the top of the first.
And build upon it they did, as the Rams introduced themselves to the win column in the next game, defeating the Broncos of Santa Clara University by a count of 3-1. That is not to say the victory came easily, however, as Fordham found themselves locked up in a one-to-one stalemate entering the seventh inning — a byproduct of the fact that both Fordham’s Devon Miller (an experienced fifth year graduate student) and Santa Clara’s Avery Seva (a hyper-talented freshman) pitched almost flawless games. Nevertheless, the bat of Wells once again found rubber and cork, the catcher managing to find grass on a top-of-the-seventh two-run single that proved to be decisive.
In the third matchup of the weekend, Fordham squared off against familiar foes, with the Rams once again being tasked with taking the field against a scrappy Nevada team. Sadly, the result was the same as the two teams’ first soiree, the Wolfpack again beating the Rams by a full six runs with their 13-7 victory. However, the Fordham bats did manage to make some noise this time around against the women in blue and silver. Not only did senior Bailey Enoch have an absolutely monstrous day, being only a double shy of a cycle, but graduate students Gianna Sarlo and Michaela Carter also registered multi-hit performances. Nevertheless, this offensive outburst was nowhere near enough to win the game, as the Ram’s own self-inflicted wounds — Fordham would commit four errors on the day — simply proved too much to overcome. It also did not help that the Wolfpack flashed an impressive combination of speed and power, recording an impressive three home runs and seven swiped bags.
The fourth matchup of the weekend, a duel against the Spartans of San Jose State University, would also prove to be frustrating for the Rams, as not only did the team fall in heartbreaking fashion, losing 5-4 after a batch of late rallies came up just short, but they also found themselves dealing with a ball player’s worst nightmare: rain delays. As frustrating as the game was, Fordham once again had a few bright spots to hang their hats on, as not only did sophomores Eva Kortasis and Kate McGuire combine for three doubles, but additionally, Enoch and Wells both showed great patience at the plate by drawing a pair of walks each. Moreover, the Rams also significantly cleaned up their defensive efforts, not committing a single error against the Spartans after their mistake-filled matchup against Nevada.
The Rams then managed to end their weekend on a high note, winning their fifth and final matchup of the tournament against the Vikings of Portland State University. Once again, the Rams had to fight tooth and nail for their victory, the game stretching into extras after the Rams blew a sizable 4-run lead. Nevertheless, the ladies in Maroon prevailed by a count of 6-5, with a walk-off single by freshman outfielder Mikayla Swan in the top of the ninth proving to be the difference. Besides Swan’s heroics, there were many other notable performances for the Rams. Enoch went 2-4 with a clutch triple in the top of the ninth; Wells continued her stellar weekend by going 3-4 with two doubles; McGuire and Kortasis both recorded two hits apiece; and Miller provided a strong 6.2 innings on the mound.
Finally, in terms of what is next for the Fordham softball team, they will thankfully have a little bit of time to catch their breath; their only game in the immediate future being a Feb. 24 matchup in Fairfield, Conn. against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University. However, a week after that, things do indeed get a lot busier for the Rams, with the team set to travel down south and compete in the Queen City Classic in Charlotte, N.C. While in the Tarheel State, they will square off against some high-octane opponents, with games against the University of Minnesota, Kentucky University and University of North Carolina Wilmington looming large.
