Baseball Travels to Philly for Weekend A-10 Series With La Salle

Following a non-conference game at Rutgers, the Fordham baseball team gets back into conference action starting Friday, when the Rams head south to Philadelphia for a three-game Atlantic 10 series against the La Salle Explorers at Hank DeVincent Field.
 
Fordham (14-15, 2-1) has gotten on a roll as of late, winning eight of its last 12 games, which included taking two of three contests from Richmond last weekend.  La Salle enters this weekend at 9-21 overall, 1-2 in the Atlantic 10.  The Explorers topped Delaware State on Wednesday for their ninth win of the year, while in league play, they dropped two of three games at George Washington last weekend.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
 
Friday – RHP Kirk Haynes, Jr. (3-0, 1.55) vs. RHP Joey Ravert (2-3, 5.84) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats
 
Saturday – RHP Greg Weissert (1-3, 4.40) vs. RHP Jordan Meyer (2-3, 4.70) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats 
 
Sunday – RHP Ben Greenberg (3-1, 2.35) vs. LHP Luke Reilly (0-2, 3.44) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats | Live Video
 
SERIES HISTORY:  The Rams and Explorers have an extensive history, having been conference opponents in both the MAAC and Atlantic 10.  This weekend will be 54^th, 55^th, and 56^th all-time meetings between the two schools since their first match-up in 1984.  Fordham holds the lead in the all-time series at 31-21-1, after taking two of three from the Explorers back in 2014.  The last series at La Salle came in 2013, when the Explorers swept all three games from the Rams in three tight contests.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Rutgers' pitching trio of Serafino Brito, Christian Campbell, and Kevin Romero limited the Rams to just five hits on Wednesday, as the Scarlet Knights shut out the Fordham Rams, 5-0, at Bainton Field in Piscataway, N.J.
 
Rutgers got on the board right away, scoring three times in the first and once in the second for a 4-0 lead.  In the first, Mike Carter reached on a one-out single and scored on a triple by Tom Marcinczyk.  On the same play, Joseph Runco dropped the relay throw, which allowed Marcinczyk to score on the play.  Jawuan Harris then doubled to right center and scored on a single by Christian Campbell.
 
The second inning also saw the Scarlet Knights take advantage of a Fordham error, as with runners at first and third and two outs, Fordham pitcher Reiss Knehr threw a pickoff throw over the head of Matthew Kozuch, allowing another run to score.
 
The Scarlet Knights added to the lead in the fifth on a strange sequence.  With two outs and a runner at third, Fordham reliever Joseph Serrapica struck out his third batter of the inning, as Marcinczyk went down looking.  The ball looked to be tossed out of the glove of Pat Gardner to the mound following the third out, as Marcinczyk argued the strike call and Fordham cleared the field.  The Rutgers bench believed it was a dropped third strike, and yelled at Marcinczyk to run to first as the runner at third crossed the plate.  After an umpire conference, it was determined that Gardner dropped the third strike, allowing the run to count for a 5-0 lead.

 
From there, it was all pitching, as the Scarlet Knights held Fordham to just five hits, and did not allow a baserunner to third.  Serafino Brito earned the win, improving to 3-2, as he gave up three hits over five innings of work. 
 
For Fordham, Luke Stampfl (1-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits.  Serrapica tossed three innings of relief, posting six strikeouts, while Parker Barnell, Anthony DiMeglio, and Ryan Remo each pitched a scoreless inning of relief with Knehr giving up one run in his one inning of work.  At the plate, Ian Edmiston was 2-for-3, while Runco, Gardner, and Kozuch had the remaining hits.
 
RECORD IN SIGHT: As the team looks to improve its Atlantic 10 standing, Fordham will also keep an eye on Friday starter Kirk Haynes, Jr.  He will take a streak of 30 consecutive scoreless innings into the contest with the Explorers.  That mark is currently tied for the school record at Fordham with Bob Cooney in 1927 and Hank Borowy in 1938.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKIN': Freshman Justin Bardwell is batting .400 (12-30) over his last nine games, posting four runs and four RBI… Senior Joseph Runco is hitting .333 (17-51) over the last 12 contests with four doubles, 14 RBI, and four stolen bases… Junior Kirk Haynes, Jr. is 3-0 in his last four appearances with a 0.30 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 30 innings of work… Senior Joseph Serrapica is 1-0 with a save and a 2.12 ERA in his last five outings, posting 21 strikeouts in 17 innings… Sophomore Parker Barnell has a 1.12 ERA in his last five relief appearances.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Fordham begins a six-game homestand starting with a Tuesday night showdown with Iona College at 6:00 PM on April 12^th.  The Rams then host Siena on Wednesday, April 13^th, followed by a three-game series with Rhode Island, April 15-17.