March 13, 2009

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Spartanburg, S.C. - A six run seventh inning along with four runs in the ninth helped the Fordham baseball team push past the Wofford Terriers, 12-10, in the first of a four-game series. Fordham improves their record to 3-9 after winning back-to-back games.

Starting pitcher John Flanagan earned the win and is now 2-0 on the year after pitching six innings of five-run ball, giving up five hits and four walks.

At the dish, Danny Leach went 3-5 with three runs, two RBI and one walk while Mike Mobbs, Ryan McCrann, Chris Walker and Brian Kownacki each had multi-hit games.

The Rams got on the board early, scoring a run in the opening frame for the fifth-straight game. Fordham got their run when freshman Stephen McSherry drew a bases loaded walk, scoring lead-off man Danny Leach. Though the Rams took an early 1-0 advantage, they could have put more men across the plate as they started out the inning with the bases loaded and no men out.

Wofford came back with two runs in the second, started off when a Mac Doyle ground ball towards the first-base side hit the lip of the infield and skewed out of the reach of Fordham first basemen Bobby DiNardo. That hit brought home Kyle Behrendt from second base.

A successful Terriers hit-and-run put runners on the corners with two outs. Then David Roney stayed in a run down between first and second on an attempted steal long enough for Doyle to score Wofford's second run in the inning.

Wofford tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the third to go up 5-1. The Terriers started things off with lead-off hitter James Foster reaching second on a Ryan McCrann throwing error. An Alex Lee walk put runners on first and second as they would both be put in scoring position with Josh McKinney's sacrifice bunt.

A Michael Gilmartin single to center field plated both runners as he would eventually steal second to give the Terriers another scoring chance. Konstantine Diamaduros continued the scoring drive, bringing Gilmartin home with a single to right.

The Rams chipped away at the four-run deficit in the top of the fourth, started off with Ryan McCrann knocking a double over the left fielder's head as he would later score on a Nick Martinez single.

In the top of the seventh, the Rams forced Wofford starting pitcher John Cornely out of the game after loading the bases with no outs. Unlike the first inning, the Rams bats woke up with this scoring opportunity, scoring five runs on righty reliever Drew Sheridan, who gave up all the Rams runs without recording an out.

With Sheridan getting an early exit, relief pitcher J.D. Osborn's first pitch bounced in the dirt, scoring Rams catcher Christ Walker to put the Rams up, 8-5. Danny Leach, Mike Mobbs, Stephen McSherry and Chris Walker each provided singles in the inning while McCrann had the only extra base hit.

In the ninth, the Rams tacked on four more runs capped off by Leach's second triple of the year that plated two runners.

These runs would be vital as things got a bit dicey in the bottom of the ninth, when J.P. Mack hit the first batter and then walked the next two batters to load the bases with only one out. He then let up a hit to Alex Lee to score two, bringing the Terriers within reach of the Rams. In came Chris Kaible to try to close the door on the game, but he also ran into a bit of trouble, giving up a single and and then hitting the next batter to bring the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded.

Diamaduros stepped up to the plate and roped a double to center field, scoring two runners. A third man would have crossed the plate if it were not for shortstop Brian Kownacki taking the relay throw from center fielder Mike Mobbs to throw out Gilmartin at home. Things settled down from there as Kaible got the final batter to fly out to right field.

The Rams and the Terriers are set to play a double-header at on Saturday, March 14, the stormy weather that pushed this game from a 7:00 PM start to 2:00 PM may cause changes in the final three games of the series. Check back to the Fordham Athletics website for more updates.