Feb. 25, 2010
Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham softball team travels to sunny Cathedral City, Calif. this weekend, to close out February at the Palm Springs Classic. The 3-1 Rams will be facing nationally ranked powerhouses such as No. 19/24 Texas A&M (10-1), San Diego State (7-4), No. 14/13 California (7-3), Oregon State (4-6) and UNLV (7-3) out of the 30-team tournament.
Fordham fans can follow all the action from the Big League Dreams Complex live, via GameTracker on FordhamSports.com.
This is Fordham’s second time in the Palm Springs Classic, hosted by Oregon State. The Rams played in the Classic in 2008, when they played No. 13 Stanford, Oregon State, Pacific and No. 18 Ohio State. Fordham went 0-4 in the 2008 Classic, but lost by just one run to Oregon State (L, 2-1) and Pacific (L, 6-5). In 2009, Fordham played in Oregon State’s later tournament, the Cathedral City Classic, held at the same complex.
Fordham is 3-1 after its opening weekend of play at the Lancer Leadoff Invitational, hosted by Longwood in Newport News, Va. At the Invitational, the Rams recorded two shut outs over Morehead State on back-to-back days of the Invitational (Feb. 20, Feb. 21) and defeated Quinnipiac, 6-1, in their final game. Fordham suffered one loss to host school, Longwood, 4-0, on Saturday in their second game.
About The Palm Springs Classic
The Oregon State head softball coach had been taking his team to the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., every few years and started to wonder why there wasn’t a similar event on the west coast. Having spent a number of years in Southern California as a student and later an assistant coach at UCLA, Walker had played men’s fastpitch at the Big League Dreams complex in Cathedral City, Calif., near Palm Springs. Walker’s dream is now in its seventh year of existence. Teams will take to the fields at the Big League Dreams complex in Cathedral City, Calif., this Thursday, February 25-Sunday, February 28.
Planning for the inaugural Cathedral City Classic, which took place in February of 2004, started late in 2001. Walker, who had spent time as part of the USA Softball coaching pool, knew that the U.S. Olympic Team would be touring in preparation for the Athens Olympics. With Arizona head coach Mike Candrea also serving as the head coach of Team USA, Walker’s top priority for what is now billed as the Cathedral City Classic became commitments from Candrea and from then-UCLA head coach Sue Enquist for the Bruins participation. Both said yes. (Taken from NCAA.com)
Fordham Fast Facts
Fordham opened the season with three wins at the Lancer Leadoff Classic, defeating Morehead State twice and finishing with a 6-1 victory over Quinnipiac. Their only loss came on Saturday to host school, Longwood. So far this season, junior Samantha Pellechio leads the Rams on offense with a .583 batting average. Pellechio has had 12 at bats and recorded four runs off seven hits with four RBI. Starting at shortstop in all four games, she had her best game against Morehead State the first time (Feb. 20), where she crossed the plate twice, tallied two hits and sent in two runs. She walked twice vs. Quinnipiac (Feb. 21) and scored twice, to help the 6-1 victory.
Fordham has outscored opponents 20-5, with most of the Rams’ runs coming inthe first four innings of play. The Rams’ only loss came against a lefty pitcher in Longwood’s Briana Wells. Fordham was only able to get three hits off her in seven innings. Longwood won, 4-1 (Feb. 20).
Against Morehead State on Feb. 20, the Rams scored 10 runs for a shutout. The Rams scored 10 or more runs seven times in 2009. The last time Fordham scored more than 10 runs was at Rhode Island on May 2, Fordham won 11-2. The Rams had one 10-0 shutout in 2009, against Delaware in Maryland Invitational on March 15. Fordham defeated the Blue Hens 10-0 in five innings in College Park, Md. The 10-0 win against Morehead on Feb. 20 was a full seven-game contest.
A Perfect Start – Mineau Sets Two Fordham Records
In the first weekend of play, pitcher Jen Mineau already set two Fordham records as she pitched a seven-inning perfect game in the season-opener against Morehead State (Feb. 20). The seven-inning perfect game was the first ever in Fordham’s 25 year history. She also threw a school record of 18 strike outs en route to a 10-0 win. It was the second perfect game and third no-hitter of Mineau’s career, while the 18 strikeouts broke the school record of 14, set by Sara Kinney in 2007. Overall, it was the third perfect game in team history and fourth no-hitter.
Mineau -- Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week
Sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau earned Fordham’s first Atlantic 10 weekly honor of the season as she was named Pitcher of the Week on Monday, Feb. 22, after her 31 strikeouts and two shut outs in the opening weekend of play at the Lancer Leadoff Invitational. Mineau pitched 13.0 innings. Against Morehead State for a rematch on Sunday, Mineau struck out the first seven batters she faced (Feb. 21) as a reliever for rookie pitcher Jamie LaBovick (Peoria, Ariz.).
The sophomore hurler also saw action against Quinnipiac (Feb. 21), at the Longwood hosted invitational. Mineau gave the Fordham softball team the defensive edge they needed as she pitched four perfect innings, allowing no hits, no walks and struck out seven of the 13 batters she faced. In four innings, Mineau had just one batter out on the bases, off an error. Every one of the seven strike outs had Quinnipiac batters chasing the ball into the catcher’s glove.
In 2009, she earned four Atlantic 10 weekly awards, with two Pitcher of the Week and two Rookie of the Week accolades, two ECAC Pitcher of the Week wards and a Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week honor. Mineau was also a second team all-Atlantic 10 selection and was designated to the Atlantic 10 all-rookie team.
Rams vs. Ranked Opponents
Fordham will face two ranked teams at the Palm Springs Classic, opening with No. 19/24 Texas A&M (Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. ET) and playing No. 14/13 Cal on Feb. 26 (6:30 p.m. ET). Fordham has defeated a ranked opponent only twice in history, with both victories in the 2009 season. The Rams defeated No. 24/20 Massachusetts on May 3, 5-4, in the Rams’ final regular season contest. The victory came as the second game of a conference doubleheader, snapping Massachusetts’ regular season home winning streak of 54 games. Fordham also defeated No. 12/14 Fresno State in the opening tournament of 2009, coincidently the Cathedral City Classic. The Rams defeated Bulldogs, 5-2 on Feb. 6, marking the program’s first-ever win over a ranked opponent.
On Deck
Returning from their West Coast trip, the Rams will then head to Clearwater, Fla., for the Under Armour Invitational, hosted by University of Southern Florida from March 5-7. In Clearwater, the Rams will face off against Florida International, Florida Gulf Coast, Centeral Michigan, Memphis and Ball State.
