Box Score April 18, 2008
Box Score
Philadelphia, Pa. -
The long ball was in style this afternoon in the Atlantic 10 series opener between Fordham and La Salle at Hank DeVincent Field. Fordham's Bobby DiNardo connected for three home runs, while Ryan David added the fourth on the day, as the Rams topped the Explorers, 7-2.
With the win, Fordham improves to 20-16-1, 6-7 in the Atlantic 10, while La Salle falls to 7-29 overall, 2-11 in the league.
Fordham opened the scoring in the top of the second, as Bobby DiNardo crushed a solo home run to center field, his fourth of the season.
The Rams increased their lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth, as Ryan David got things going with a one-out double down the left field line. Alex Kenny followed with an RBI-single up the middle to score David. After the Rams then loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and walk to Rich Goulian and Eric Reese, respectively, Chris Kaible was then hit by a pitch to force in a run.
La Salle picked up their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth. John Rickards singled with one out. T.J. Chism then reached on an error, moving Rickards to third. R.J. Hollinshead then doubled to left center to score Rickards with Chism taking third. Chism then scored on a ground out by Mike Dertouzos.
Fordham pushed the lead back to two at 4-2 in the fifth, as DiNardo drilled his second solo home run of the game, this time to left for his team-leading fifth of the season.
The Rams scratched across another run in the top of the sixth for a 5-2 lead. Goulian led off with a double to right center and moved to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Leach, Reese hit into a double play, which allowed Goulian to score from third.
Fordham used the long ball again in the top of the seventh to increase their lead to 7-2. DiNardo once again drove a deep ball to center off the top of the wall that bounced away from the centerfielder, allowing DiNardo to score on an inside the park home run. Two batters later, David joined the long ball party with a solo home run to left, his third of the season.
The run support was plenty for Fordham's Tom Davis (5-2), as he allowed just one earned run on four hits in eight innings of work, while Angelo Ponte and Kaible were able to get the final three outs in the ninth.
At the plate, Bobby DiNardo was 3-for-5 with three solo home runs, while Ryan David was 2-for-5 with a double and a home run. Alex Kenny and Rich Goulian also had two hits each for the Rams.
The same two teams will match-up for the second game of this series on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 12:00 PM.
