By Anthony Pucik
The 2-3 Fordham softball team travelled down to Tampa, Florida this past weekend to participate in the USF Presidents Day Weekend Tournament.
The team’s first game was against the St. John’s University Red Storm on Friday, Feb. 13. The Rams struck first in the top of the first on an RBI ground out by senior catcher Kayla Lombardo off Red Storm starter Tori Free to go up 1-0, and that was all Fordham’s redshirt junior starter Rachel Gillen needed. Gillen pitched seven innings of three-hit shutout ball, striking out 11 and walking only one.
The Rams added two more runs on senior designated hitter Michelle Daubman’s solo homerun in the top of the sixth and sophomore second baseman Amy Van Hoven’s RBI single in the seventh, and won by the score of 3-0. Gillen picked up her third win of the season to improve to 3-1, while Free picked up her first loss of the season for St. John’s and dropped to 1-1.
The Rams’ next game on Friday was against the Tennessee University Lady Volunteers. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third, when RBI singles by Tennessee’s catcher Annie Aldrete and shortstop Meghan Gregg off Daubman put the Lady Vols up 2-0. The Lady Vols added a run in the fifth on pitcher and right fielder Rainey Gaffin’s solo homerun to make it 3-0.
They scored two more in the bottom of the sixth on a solo homer from second baseman Megan Geer and an RBI ground out by center fielder Jessica Adell to make it 5-0. Fordham was only able to muster four hits off of the pitching tandem of Gaffin and Gretchen Aucoin in their first loss of the weekend. Aucoin picked up her third win for Tennessee, while Daubman fell to 1-2 on the season.
Fordham double dated on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, Feb. 14, starting with the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles. The Eagles scored in the top of the first on an RBI single by second baseman Alexis Ross off the Rams’ Daubman to take an early 1-0 lead. The Rams countered in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single of their own by Lombardo to tie the score at one.
Fordham erupted for six runs in the bottom of the second. Senior right fielder Cora Ianiro reached on an error to score Gillen, followed by a two-RBI double by center fielder Sydney Canessa to take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore third baseman Lindsay Mayer reached on a fielder’s choice to score Van Hoven and Canessa, and left fielder Brianna Turgeon added an RBI single to put Forhdam up 6-1 after two.
The Rams added four more in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Mayer, a sacrifice fly by Lombardo and a solo homerun for Turgeon, making it 11-1 Fordham. Daubman was perfect after the first, pitching five innings of five-hit ball, striking out one and walking one, and led Fordham to the five-inning mercy win. Daubman evened up her record at 2-2 on the season, while Florida Gulf Coast starter Ashl Dobson fell to 1-1.
The Rams’ next date was with the University of South Florida Bulls. Fordham had a very productive top of the first, scoring two runs on a Mayer RBI double and Lombardo RBI single to take an early 2-0 lead. The Rams added another run in the top of the second on a Canessa RBI single, but USF countered in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly by pitcher Karla Claudio to make it 3-1 Fordham. The Bulls took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third on a two-RBI single by designated player Morgan Litchfield and a steal of home by catcher Lee Ann Spivey. The Rams scored a run each in the fourth and fifth innings to re-take the lead 5-4, but the Bulls got the lead back in the bottom of the inning with a Litchfield RBI single and a fielder’s choice by right fielder Mia Fung to make it 6-5.
But much like their game earlier in the day, Fordham had a big inning in the top of the sixth. Van Hoven started off with an RBI single, followed by RBI walks issued to Mayer, Lombardo and Turgeon. Gillen and junior shortstop Allie Bradian each added RBI singles and Canessa chipped in a two-RBI single to cap off an eight-run inning for the Rams to put them up 13-6. Fordham got another run in the top of the seventh when Lombardo scored on a wild pitch, and they won 14-6.
Gillen struggled after her last outing, giving up six runs in 4.2 innings pitched, but junior Patti Maloney came on in relief and pitched 2.1 innings of three-hit shutout ball to pick up her first victory of the season. USF reliever Erica Nunn earned the loss, giving up five runs in the sixth on two and a third innings pitched.
The Rams’ final game of the tournament came on Sunday, Feb. 15, against the Detroit University Titans. Fordham once again scored on its first plate appearance in the bottom of the first on a Mayer RBI single and RBI walk to Turgeon to take a 2-0 lead. Detroit got a run back in the top of the second off Fordham’s sophomore starter Lauren Quense, but Fordham added two more in the bottom of the inning on a 2-RBI single by Mayer to make it 4-1 Fordham.
Detroit cut the lead to one once again with two runs in the top of the fourth, but Turgeon’s solo homerun in the bottom of the fifth gave Fordham a 6-3 lead.
The Tigers added another two runs in the top of the sixth off Daubman, who came on in relief in the fifth, but were not able to retie the game, giving Fordham the 6-5 victory. Quense evened her record to 1-1 on the season, while Detroit starter Christa McGahuey dropped to 0-3.
The 6-4 Fordham Rams hit the road against the weekend for the Paladin Classic down in Greensville, South Carolina. Their first game is Friday, Feb. 20, against Toledo at 11 a.m.
