Fordham Softball was on the road again during the second week of the season for the Bobcat Tournament in San Marcos, Texas. After going 1-4 in South Carolina to open the season, the Rams saw a mix of promising improvements and things to work on in a winning weekend, going 3-2.
The weekend did not start on a positive note for the Rams, with the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks walking off Fordham in a 5-4 loss.
The Rams started scoreless through three innings, but got on the board in the top of the fourth. Senior Sydney Wells led off with a single to right field. With two outs, sophomore Annie Sullivan (who pinch ran for Wells) scored on an error giving Fordham a 1-0 lead. Freshman Sophie Nesturrick capped off the fourth inning with a double to center field, putting the Rams ahead 2-0. The lead did not last, however. In the bottom of the fourth, junior pitcher Holly Beeman gave up a single and homer to the Lumberjacks to tie the game 2-2. Two errors by Fordham allowed a run to score, putting SFA ahead 3-2.
Fordham had a chance to tack on some runs in the top of the fifth with two outs and two on but did not capitalize. A string of hits and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning put SFA up 4-2.
After a quiet sixth inning came a pitching change by the Lumberjacks, proving beneficial for the Rams late in the game. As freshman Morgan Volgraf led off the top of the seventh, she reached on an error. A sacrifice bunt by senior Mallory McClellan and single by junior Neleh Nogay scored Volgraf to put Fordham within one. A stolen base and two singles loaded the bases for the Rams with one out. Junior Eva Koratsis flew out to left field, allowing Nogay to score. Fordham tied the game 4-4.
Beeman held SFA in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. The Rams were not able to capitalize in the eighth, despite loading the bases with one out. The Lumberjacks, however, pushed across one run on a single to walk-off Fordham, 5-4. Beeman took the loss in a complete game effort for the Rams, giving up seven hits and three earned runs with four strikeouts.
The Rams started their scoring in a game two victory against the University of New Mexico Lobos in the bottom of the third. A pair of singles and stolen bases put Nogay and sophomore Mikayla Swan in scoring position to start the inning. Koratsis knocked the two in with a double to center field, putting Fordham up 2-0. Senior pitcher Emilee Watkins gave up a triple and RBI single to lead off the fourth, narrowing the Rams lead to 2-1. The defense ended the inning with a double play to keep the score there.
Fordham capitalized on their opponent’s poor pitching and defense in the bottom of the fifth. The team pushed two runs across on two walks, two hit batters and an error by the Lobos to take a 4-1 lead. New Mexico tacked on one run in the sixth. The Rams won 4-2, but not without some drama in the seventh. Freshman Victoria Klimaszewski walked the bases loaded with one out, but worked out of the jam to earn her first collegiate save. Watkins pitched well over five innings allowing five hits and two earned runs, securing her first win on the season.
In a rematch against SFA, Fordham looked to redeem themselves in game three of the Bobcat Tournament. This time, they were on the winning end of a walk-off.
Freshman pitcher Elizabeth Gaisior began her second start of the season strong, giving up four hits with five strikeouts over four scoreless innings. She faced some trouble in the top of the fourth with two on and one out but battled out of it with two strikeouts. In the fifth, however, the Lumberjacks strung together five hits and a sacrifice fly off Gaisior to take a 4-0 lead.
The Rams responded in the bottom of the fifth with one run, making it 4-1. Senior Allie Clark led off with a single up the middle. A series of walks and a hit-by-pitch brought Clark home with one out. What looked like a promising inning for Fordham turned sour when they left the bases loaded without scoring any more runs to end the fifth.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Rams saw themselves in a similar position, with two runners on and multiple chances to score. This time, Nogay came through with a two-run, two-out double to put Fordham within one (4-3) heading into the seventh.
Wells opened up the seventh inning rally with a game-tying home run, her first of the season. From there on, the Rams put runners in scoring position on a hit-by-pitch, single, and sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Erin Hoppe notched a single up the middle, and the Rams sent the winning run home to walk-off the Lumberjacks in full revenge fashion.
Klimaszewski was excellent out of the bullpen, holding SFA hitless through two innings and earning her first collegiate win in the 5-4 victory.
Fordham floundered in their fourth game of the weekend against the tournament host — the Texas State University Bobcats — where they played six innings in a mercy-rule 8-0 loss.
The Bobcats took an early lead with a solo home run in the first off sophomore starter Olivia Simcoe. The Rams strung together a pair of singles with two outs in the third, but came up short of tying the game. Texas State added to their lead with a two-run shot in the third, making the score 3-0.
Watkins relieved Simcoe in the fourth. The senior pitcher was almost perfect through two and 1/3, allowing just one hit, before the Rams’ defense faltered with one out in the sixth. Two errors opened the floodgates, letting the Bobcats put up five to solidify their victory. Fordham had just two hits — both of which came in the third — in the 8-0 loss.
To wrap up the weekend, Fordham shut out the University of St. Thomas Tommies in a 3-0 victory in game five.
Junior Nicki Sudall led off the second inning with a homer, giving the Rams an early 1-0 lead. Fordham added a couple of insurance runs late in the game. During a busy fifth, the team collected two hits and two walks, with one run scored on a single by Koratsis. A seventh inning single by Hoppe knocked in the final run for Fordham, giving them a definitive 3-0 lead.
Beeman twirled a gem in the circle, allowing four hits and three walks with four strikeouts in a complete game shutout. She brings her record to 2-2 on the season.
While performing better than the opening weekend of the season, the Rams continued to struggle to push runs across when they had runners on and less than two outs. Fordham went 12 for 44 (.272) with runners in scoring position over the five games. Errors did not help the Rams when their bats were struggling either. Two errors in game one against SFA and two errors in game four against Texas State allowed seven unearned runs in the two losses.
There were two promising highlights for the Rams: the walk-off win against SFA and Klimaszewski’s performance out of the bullpen. Fordham wields the ability to come from behind and score; which they proved against SFA. Klimaszewski did not give up a hit in relief this weekend, walking four and striking out three over three and 1/3 innings. A dominant arm like that will prove beneficial for the Rams when they need relief late in games. Beeman was excellent for Fordham this weekend. She went 14 and 2/3 innings allowing just three earned runs with eight strikeouts. The junior earned Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Week for her performance in the Bobcat Tournament.
The Rams will look to keep improving in the Garnet and Black Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina starting Friday, Feb. 21. They face the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to open their four-game weekend.
