Fordham Softball opened Atlantic 10 (A-10) play for the season with games against the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers and the Saint Louis University Billikens, now sitting at 4-2 in the conference. 

The Rams completed a sweep of the Ramblers at home on Sunday, March 16, in a 12-5 victory. Loyola jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a double and a pair of bunts in the tops of the first. Fordham evened up the score in the bottom of the inning on a triple to right field by junior Neleh Nogay and a sacrifice fly by junior Nicki Sudall. 

Loyola scored in the third on a hit by pitch and sacrifice bunt, making it a 2-1 game. The Rams took their first lead in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Erin Hoppe led off the inning with a single to left field before senior Mallory McClellan came to the plate and hit a two-run homer to put Fordham up 3-2. A single by sophomore Mikayla Swan scored senior Allie Clark — who reached on a double — providing an insurance run for the Rams. 

Fordham’s starting pitcher, junior Holly Beeman, got into some trouble in the top of the fifth. She faced four batters in the inning, giving up two singles and two doubles. Loyola took a 5-4 lead. Sophomore Olivia Simcoe relieved Beeman with no outs and one runner on, closing out the inning with no further damage. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Fordham put up four runs on poor defense by Loyola to retake an 8-5 lead. Junior Eva Koratsis reached on an error to start the inning. Hoppe reached on a fielder’s choice, then junior Kate McGuire singled to knock in the tying run. Clark walked to load the bases before Loyola floundered. With Nogay up to bat, a series of errors allowed three runs to score, giving Fordham an 8-5 lead. The Rams tacked on three more in the bottom of the sixth with RBI doubles from McGuire and Clark. 

Simcoe earned her first win of the season, allowing two hits with five strikeouts over three innings. 

Taking a midweek break from conference opponents, the Rams took on the Clemson University Tigers at home in a blowout 14-1 loss.  

Senior Sydney Wells put Fordham up in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to right field. Clemson quickly answered with three runs in the top of the second, all credited to starter senior Emilee Watkins. Freshman Elizabeth Gaisior relieved Watkins with two outs in the second, forcing a flyout to end the inning. The Tigers came back hot in the third. They scored eight earned runs off of Gaisior, knocking her out of the game with two outs. Simcoe came on in relief to close out the game over two and 1/3 innings. She allowed one run in the fourth and two in the fifth. 

The Rams only had three hits to the Tigers’ 13 in the five-inning, mercy-rule game. Watkins took the loss. 

Fordham closed out the week with an A-10 series against the Billikens, earning one win and two losses in Saint Louis, Missouri. In a game originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, the Rams lost to the Billikens 10-2 in a six-inning game Friday night to open the series. 

In the top of the second, the Rams had a chance to score with the bases loaded. Hoppe and McClellan singled, followed by a walk by McGuire with one out. The bats stalled there, unable to put any runs on the board. Saint Louis put two on in the bottom of the inning, but were able to push them across on a passed ball and single, taking a 2-0 lead. A bunt single and double in the third increased the Billikens’ lead to 3-0.

A similar situation to the second arose at the top of the fourth. Sudall, Hoppe and McClellan loaded the bases on singles with no outs, but Fordham could not get anything across. While the Rams’ offense struggled, Saint Louis’ continued to thrive in the bottom of the inning: the team had five hits and scored four runs off of Beeman, knocking her out of the game. Simcoe relieved the starter, limiting the Billikens to just the four.

The top of the fifth saw Fordham finally produce with runners on. Once again loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, McClellan singled to right field allowing Koratsis to score. Sudall trailed behind her trying to tack on a second run, but was thrown out at home, limiting the score to 7-1. Saint Louis added a run to their lead in the bottom of the inning on a walk and passed balls. The Rams responded with a run in the sixth in almost identical fashion. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the Billikens pushed two runs across to mercy Fordham. 

Fordham put up nine hits in the loss but was unable to make anything happen with runners on. McClellan led the offense, going 3-for-3 with a lone RBI. Hoppe also added two hits for the Rams. They also added three errors on defense, not helping their offensive struggles. Beeman took her third loss of the season, allowing nine hits and five earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts. 

The Rams were shutout in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, losing 6-0. 

Fordham had a chance to score in the first three innings, but could not push anything across, a theme for the weekend. In the first, Swan singled, then Wells and Koratsis walked with one out. With the bases loaded, Sudall and Hoppe struck out to end the inning. In the second, the team put runners on second and third with two outs on a walk, single and a pair of fielder’s choices. A walk and single by Wells and Sudall, respectively, put two on with one out for the Rams in the third with no results. 

Saint Louis started their scoring in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly and error, putting them ahead 2-0. They added two in the third and two in the fourth to give them a definitive 6-0 lead. 

Watkins threw two innings, giving up four hits, four runs (three earned) and three walks. She took the loss, putting her at 4-5 for the season. Gaisior pitched out of the bullpen, holding the Billikens to three hits and two runs over four innings with three walks and six strikeouts. 

Bouncing back, Beeman spun a gem in a 6-1 victory over the Billikens Saturday evening to avoid the sweep.

Fordham scored quickly in the first. Nogay reached on a single before making her way around the diamond on a stolen base, a fly out and a ground out. Saint Louis answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning; that is all they would score. 

A big third allowed the Rams to tack on four insurance runs. A solo homer to center field by Sudall started the scoring. A pair of singles by Hoppe and McClellan put two on for freshman Sophie Nesturrick. Digging in, the freshman knocked her first collegiate home run to left field, earning three RBIs and giving Fordham a 5-1 lead. The Rams tacked on their last run in the top of the seventh on a single by freshman Morgan Volgraf. 

Beeman earned the win, allowing just one run and four hits with one walk and four strikeouts. She sits at 6-3 on the season. 

The Rams rank fifth in the A-10 standings after the first week of conference play. They will take on St. John’s University in Queens, New York, on March 23 before returning home to face A-10 opponent St. Bonaventure University for a three-game series on March 29 and 30.