Box Score May 17, 2008
Box Score
Amherst, Mass. -
It was a career game for Rich Goulian that came, quite appropriately, in his final career game for Fordham. The senior short stop went 4-for-5 with a double a home run and five RBI to lead the Rams to a 13-10 season-ending Atlantic 10 win over Massachusetts at Earl Lorden Field.
With the win, the Rams close out the season with a 29-24-1 overall record, 13-14 in the Atlantic 10, while Massachusetts finishes the 2008 season with an 18-27 overall record, 11-16 in the conference.
The Minutemen took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first and then went up 5-0 with four more in the second.
The Rams got on the board in the third as Chris Walker walked with one out and moved to second on an Alex Kenny single. Goulian then plated Walker with another single, moving Kenny to third, where he scored on an error.
Fordham made it a 5-4 game with two more in the fourth when Eric Reese led off with a walk and, one out later, stole second. Reese then came in to score on a P.J. Como triple and Como scored when Michael Taddei followed with a single.
The Rams took a 6-5 lead in the fifth when Goulian and Joe Russo connected on back-to-back home runs. Goulian's was his fifth of the year while Russo hit his first of the season.
Fordham extended the lead to 8-5 in the sixth as Mike Mobbs singled with one out and, one out later, Keny walked. Goulian then brought in both runners with a double.
The Minutemen pulled to within two, 8-6, in the home half of the sixth as Adam Tempesta walked with one out and the bases loaded. But Fordham reliever Greg Dimmling struck out Jim Macdonald and then got Mike Donato to fly out to end the inning.
A three-run seventh boosted the Rams' lead to 11-6 as Ryan McCrann singled with one out and Taddei walked one out later. A Mike Mobbs double brought in McCrann and Walker followed with a single to plate pinch runner Bobby DiNardo and Mobbs.
But Massachuetts took advantage of two Fordham errors to score four times in the bottom of the seventh and make it a one-run game, 11-10.
The Rams picked up a couple of insurance runs in the ninth for the 13-10 final. Mobbs and Walker led off the frame with consecutive singles before Kenny greeted UMass reliver Aaron Smith with an infield single to load the bases. Goulian brought in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly and Russo followed with a single to plate the second.
Though UMass got a hit in the ninth, Fordham reliever Greg Dimmling induced the double play ball to Reese and Goulian, which fittingly ended the game.
John Flanagan (4-3) picked up the win on the mound for the Rams, throwing the first five and one-third inings, allowing eight hits and four earned runs while striking out two. Dimmling earned his second save of the year, with three and two-thirds innings of two-hit relief. Mobbs finished the game with three hits and an RBI while Russo and Walker each collected a pair of hits and two RBI.
