Box Score April 28, 2009
Box Score
Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham baseball team saw their ten run, fifth-inning lead slip to just three against Manhattan College, but with the help of senior Angelo Ponte's two home runs, the Rams were able to hold on for the 15-12 victory against the Jaspers.
Fordham's record improves to 15-27 on the year while Manhattan falls to 28-12.
Fifth-year senior Danny Leach got things going, in the bottom of the first, with a lead-off walk and a stolen base. Brian Kownacki stepped up and roped a single to center, scoring Leach and giving the Rams an early 1-0 lead.
Manhattan answered right back with a run in the bottom half of the frame, but it was the Rams' bats that struck for five third-inning runs to put Fordham back on top, 6-1. The Rams got three of those runs when, with the bases loaded and one out, senior John Kahn cracked a bases-clearing triple over the center fielder's head. Nick Martinez's double down the right-field line brought home Kahn while a Mike Mobbs' single to right plated Martinez.
The Jaspers tacked on another run in the bottom of the third, though the Rams responded with three runs in the top of the fourth. Senior Bobby DiNardo brought in the first run as his single to left scored Kownacki from second. Next at the dish was Ponte to smash his first home run of the game and bring in the final two Rams' runs in the inning.
The Rams added three more runs, in the top of the fifth, to take a commanding 12-2 lead. With two men on and no one out, Ryan Maghini's infield single advanced Mike Mobbs to third who then scored on wild throw by Manhattan third baseman, Chad Salem. Stephen McSherry found his way across the plate via a Leach sacrifice fly as Ponte drove in another run with his second hit of the game.
A ten-run deficit would be enough to put any team down, but it did not deter the Jaspers at chipping away at the Fordham lead as they plated three runners in the bottom of the fifth.
McSherry's second triple of the year drove in Mobbs while Leach's second sacrifice fly of the game brought home McSherry to bring the score to 14-5 in the bottom of the sixth. But back came the Jaspers as they scored three runs, highlighted by Kevin Nieto's 13th home run of the year in the bottom half of the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, one stroke of Ponte's bat extended the Rams' lead to 15-8, on his second home run of the game and third of the year.
Manhattan would not go down quietly as made it a three-run ball game with two runs in the seventh and another two in the eighth, but senior Chris Kaible was able to finish out the game and shut down the Jaspers in his two innings of relief work
Senior Jake Rabinowitz improves to 2-5 with the win after pitching five innings, giving up six runs on five hits, five walks while striking out three. Zac Goyer takes the loss in his 2.1 innings of work, giving up five runs on two hits, five walks and two strike outs.
It was Ponte's hot bat that led the Fordham offense as the senior went 3-4 with three runs and three RBI in the game. Kownacki also put up stellar numbers against the Jaspers' pitching, going 4-6 with a run scored and an RBI while Mike Mobbs had a 2-3, two run and one RBI day.
Fordham now heads out to Kingston, R.I. to take on the Rhode Island Rams in a three-game series starting Friday, May 1, at 3:00 PM
