The hits came early and often on Tuesday night, as the Fordham baseball team kicked off a six-game homestand against the Iona Gaels at Houlihan Park in the Bronx. The Rams had season-high totals for runs and hits, as Fordham defeated Iona, 19-2.
With the win, Fordham gets over the .500 mark for the first time since the opening game of the season at 17-16, while Iona fell to 7-22.
The scoring got started in the third, when Fordham erupted for six runs on six hits.
Joseph Runco started the rally with a triple to right center for career hit #214, moving him into the top ten all-time at Fordham, passing
Brian Kownacki (213 – 2009-12).
Justin Bardwell quickly plated Runco with a single to center for a 1-0 lead. The Rams also got RBI-singles from
Luke Stampfl,
Mark Donadio, and
Ian Edmiston, as well as a two-run double by
Jason Lundy to go up by a 6-0 score.
The Rams then matched that output in the fourth, scoring six more times for a 12-0 lead. This time, the scoring started with an RBI-double down the left field line by
Ryan McNally, scoring Runco, who walked, and moved Bardwell to third, after he was hit by a pitch. Stampfl knocked in Bardwell with an RBI-ground out, while Donadio picked up his second RBI-single to score McNally. After a pitching change and a hit by pitch to Lundy,
Reiss Knehr laced a triple that rolled all the way to the wall in right center, scoring both runners. Knehr then scored on a ground out by Edmiston.
Fordham continued to add to the lead with a run in the fifth, making it 13-0, on an RBI-single by Stampfl, scoring Runco, who reached on an error.
Iona got on the board with an unearned run in the sixth, but Fordham tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 16-1. In that inning,
Ryan Mahoney and Donadio both picked up RBI-singles, while
Ryan Jennings plated a run on a fielder's choice.
Luke Stampfl had two hits and three RBI on Tuesday night. The Gaels would score once in the eighth to make it 16-2, but Fordham had the final say, scoring three times in the bottom of the inning for the 19-2 final. The last runs came on a sacrifice fly by Donadio and a two-run triple by Jennings.
All of that offense gave the Fordham pitching staff an easy night to work on the mound. Starter
Jimmy Murphy (2-2) was credited with the win, as he went the first four innings, allowing seven hits with five strikeouts.
Kirk Haynes, Jr. pitched a scoreless fifth inning, while
Anthony Zimmerman gave up one unearned run on two hits in his two innings of work with
Moshup Galbraith allowing a run in the eighth.
George Rodriguez closed out the game, getting the final six outs without allowing a hit.
At the plate, all nine starters had at least one hit in the game, led by Donadio, who was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and tied a career-high with four RBI, while Stampfl was 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Jennings knocked in a career-high three runs, while Knehr, Lundy, and Edmiston each had two RBI.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Wednesday, April 13
th, when the Rams continue their homestand against the Siena Saints at Houlihan Park, beginning at 6:00 PM.
