The 2024 Fordham Softball season has been marked by peaks, valleys and inconsistency.
Before the break, they took two of three games against the University of Rhode Island team before a comeback victory over Iona College squad.
Winning four of their last five, the Rams had a chance to keep doing just that with a three-game set against a struggling University of Massachusetts.
However, as our sports editor Jonah Ring poetically wrote three weeks ago, “the games are won on the field, not in the record column.” The Minutewomen snatched the series thanks to late-game heroics during Friday’s doubleheader.
A Fordham six-spot in the top of the fifth gave the Rams a late two-run lead, thanks to three-run blasts from sophomore Nicki Sudall and junior Sydney Wells. UMass responded immediately with an RBI single and a go-ahead grand slam. They closed out the 13-10 victory in the seventh.
Game two was equally exciting, heading into extras in a 5-5 tie. Freshman Mikayla Swan doubled in a run to give the Rams a 6-5 lead, but once again, UMass would get the last laugh. In her fourth inning of work, Bailey Enoch could not close it out, surrendering a game-tying home run before the Minutewomen walked it off on a passed ball.
Fordham salvaged the final game, tallying 12 runs on 14 hits behind a complete game, 3 ER performance from graduate student Devon Miller. The Fordham offense had no problem getting going, scoring 26 runs over the three-game set. Unfortunately, the pitching faltered, as Miller, Enoch and sophomore Holly Beeman failed to shut down a struggling UMass lineup.
Following a 20-0 midweek rout at the hands of #12 ranked University of Missouri, the Rams would look to get right with a three-game Easter weekend series against George Mason University.
After a 2-0 loss in game one, Fordham took the backend of the Friday doubleheader and Saturday’s rubber match, getting back above .500 in conference play with a 5-4 record. Their pitching enjoyed an emphatic bounce back, limiting the Explorers to four runs over three games.
Miller returned to her ace-like form, allowing just two earned runs over 13 innings in two starts and matching a season-high with nine strikeouts in the rubber match. Beeman snapped a stretch of poor outings with a brilliant complete-game gem as the Rams mercy-ruled George Mason 10-1 in five innings.
At the plate, Wells stayed on an absolute tear, knocking in four runs over the weekend and belting her A-10-leading ninth homer of the season.
A Wednesday matchup against St. John’s University was canceled due to the violent east coast storm, giving Fordham six days of rest before a highly anticipated conference matchup against George Washington University. The Revolutionaries entered with an A-10-leading .302 batting average, boasting seven different players hitting over .300 and six with an OPS over .800.
Once again, the Rams dominated in the circle, completely shutting down the potent GW offense as they came away with a statement three-game sweep.
Fordham took a 2-0 lead in Game 1 on a 2-run double from Wells. With Miller cruising, it seemed like that would be all they’d need. Miller quickly recorded the first two outs in the top of the fifth, but GW shifted momentum, back-to-back hits to plate one run. They evened up the game on the bases, swiping third and scoring on an errant throw by Wells. Fordham answered in the bottom half of the inning as graduate student Gianna Sarlo’s bloop double led the way to a sac-fly from Enoch.
The Revolutionaries made the Rams sweat out the seventh. With runners on first and second and two outs, a single scored one with another close behind,, but sophomore Neleh Nogay gunned out the potential game-tying run with a rocket of a throw from left field, sealing the 3-2 win.
The GW bats put up a fight but were held in check by Miller, who threw a whopping 141 pitches while allowing only one earned run in her complete game effort. The Revolutionaries would be much less active in game two, as Beeman blanked them in her second complete-game shutout of the season. Two runs on RBI knocks from Wells and Enoch were all that was needed as the Rams rode the 1-2 punch of Miller and Beeman to two hard-fought wins.
After consecutive closely-contest nailbiters, Fordham opted for a less stressful game to close out the series, defeating the Revolutionaries 11-2 in five innings by way of the run rule. Miller earned her second complete game of the weekend, but the bottom of the lineup was the biggest standout. A two-hit, three RBI day from senior Bella Ayala headlined the 6-7-8-9 part of the lineup that knocked in nine of the team’s 11 runs, with each batter posting at least two RBIs.
The Rams and the Revolutionaries entered play with identical 5-4 conference records, but it was Fordham that came away looking like the sharper team, enjoying consistently great pitching as well as fantastic play in the field.
The last two weekends should give fans justified hope that the Rams are turning the page on inconsistency and trading it in for sustained high-level play. Even though it’s a month away, Fordham can start to dream about what a 1-2 combo of Miller and Beeman in the circle will look like come A-10-Championship time.
Miller returned to form after posting a 5.17 ERA last season, reclaiming her position as the staff’s ace with a team-leading 2.99 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched. Miller has thrown a complete game in each of her last five starts, pitching to a 1.40 ERA in her last four while striking out 23 batters.
Beeman has endured ups and downs in her sophomore campaign following a historic freshman season where she led the A-10 with a 1.47 ERA. She’s pitched to a 4.43 ERA so far this year, but it’s now back-to-back brilliant outings, allowing just one earned run over her last 12 innings. If Beeman stays on track, Fordham could be looking at the best starting rotation in the entire conference.
Meanwhile, on the offensive end, the Rams boast a prime candidate for A-10 Player of the Year in Wells. Leading the conference with nine home runs and 41 RBIs, good for 27th in all of collegiate softball, to pair with a .330 average and 1.158 OPS, Wells hasn’t shown any signs of slowing as she continues to mash at the plate.
With the three-game sweep, the Rams improved to 17-19-1 overall and 8-4 in conference play, tied with the University of Dayton for third in the A-10. As fate would have it, that’s who the Rams have next up, hosting the Flyers this weekend after a Wednesday game against the U.S. Military Academy West Point. With a 3.19 staff ERA that ranks second in the conference, it will be another big test and a chance for another potential statement from a Fordham team that has won five of their last six games.
