Softball Rallies Late but Falls in Series Opener at Massachusetts

Box Score (pdf)

Amherst, Mass. – The Fordham softball team fell in Friday's series-opening contest with Massachusetts, 5-4, despite a three-run rally in the seventh inning. With the loss, the Rams fall to 31-11 on the year and 7-3 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Minutewomen improve to 18-17 and 7-2, respectively.
 
Easter weekend provided the rare Friday start for the conference three-game set and Massachusetts took a head start in the series with a tight victory, using a crucial third-inning grand slam and a vital insurance run in the sixth to eek out the result and stay atop the league leaderboard with Fordham.
 
Madison Aughinbaugh made her 14^th start but picked up her fourth loss, getting pegged for three earned runs out of four, all coming on Tara Klee's grand slam. Opposite the freshman was First Team All-Conference selection Meg Colleran, going the distance and limiting the Rams to one run over six innings before Fordham rallied for three in the seventh.
 
Sydney Canessa moved up to the leadoff spot for this one and enjoyed a 2-for-3 day with two runs scored and a stolen base, also reaching on a hit by pitch. The senior scored the first run of the game on Madison Shaw's first-inning sacrifice fly with two outs, stealing second after singling to start the game and moving over to third on Lindsay Mayer's groundout.
 
Aughinbaugh worked out of early trouble, with runners on second and third in the first with one out but induced two pop-ups to end the inning. In the third, Klee's grand slam came with one out and after Kaitlyn Stavinoha had doubled, Jena Cozza had walked, and Kaycee Carbone had reached on a fielding error by Aughinbaugh. After allowing a single in the fourth in an otherwise clean inning, the freshman made way for classmate Taylor Stocks in the fifth, who allowed a small-ball run, which proved to be the game-winning run. Candace Denis reached on a bunt single, stole second, and scored two batters later on a Stavinoha single to left center.
 
Fordham rallied late but fell just short, scoring three runs in the seventh. Ally Vergona singled to center, her second single of the day, and both Stocks and Canessa reached on infield singles to load the bases. Mayer drew a walk to force in a run but Hughes made the second out with a fielder's choice, Stocks being thrown out at home by the shortstop Cozza. Shaw plated two with a single to right to get within one but Quense grounded out to third to end the game.
 
Canessa and Vergona were the lone Rams to tally multi-hit games, while Mayer, Shaw, Quense, and Stocks each notched one hit apiece. Hughes batted third and made her first start at shortstop, going 0-for-4 to fall under .400 for the season and tallying an error early in the game on a misplayed grounder. Shaw finished with three RBI to continue her surge up the national ranks, now with 51 on the year, tied for eighth-most in a single season in program history already. The record is 73 in 2014 by Elise Fortier.
 
The Rams and Minutewomen meet Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at noon.