March 16, 2010

Fordham Baseball Notes | Tuesday's GameTracker | Wednesday's GameTracker

Coral Gables, Fla. - The Fordham baseball team's southern swing through Florida continues on Tuesday, as they open a two-game set against the Miami Hurricanes at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables.

This is Fordham's fifth overall visit to the Hurricanes' home ballpark, and the first since 2007. That year, Fordham had a three-game series against nationally ranked Miami, dropping all three games, including a 10-9 extra-inning affair in the series finale.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Tuesday - Brian Pendergast (RHP, 0-1) vs. Steven Ewing (LHP, 2-0)
Wednesday - John Flanagan (RHP, 0-3) vs. Jerad Grundy (LHP, 0-0)

ALL-TIME SERIES: Miami has won all eight previous meetings.

Date - Location - Result
3/22/1984 - Coral Gables, Fla. - Miami, 17-0
3/24/1984 - Coral Gables, Fla. - Miami, 11-4
5/14/1993 - Coral Gables, Fla. - Miami, 6-1
5/15/1993 - Coral Gables, Fla. - Miami, 8-0
3/14/2006 - Coral Gables, Fla. - #20 Miami, 6-0
3/2/2007 - Coral Gables, Fla. - #12 Miami, 14-8
3/3/2007 - Coral Gables, Fla. - #12 Miami, 8-1
3/4/2007 - Coral Gables, Fla. - #12 Miami, 10-9 (10)

FLORIDA ROAD SWING: Fordham baseball will play a total of eight games over nine days in the Rams' annual spring break trip to Florida. The Rams opened the trip with a three-game set against Pittsburgh in Vero Beach at Dodgertown. After the two-game set at Miami, the Rams then head to Port St. Lucie, where Fordham will meet Michigan for the first time in team history. Those games will be held at the New York Mets Spring Training Facility.

SCOUTING MIAMI: The Hurricanes are out to a 10-4 start with an 8-4 mark at home. Miami is hitting .296 in the early stages of the season, led by Chris Pelaez and Yasmani Grandal. Pelaez is batting a team-best .426 to go with 12 runs, four doubles, three home runs, and 12 RBI, while Grandal is hittting .392 with a team-high 16 runs scored and seven doubles. Harold Martinez has provided the early power numbers with a team-best four home runs.

On the hill, the Hurricanes have a 3.64 team ERA, allowing just a .235 batting average to opponents. In this series, Steven Ewing will get the start on Tuesday. Ewing is 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched, while Jerad Grundy (9.00 ERA, 3.0 IP) will start on Wednesday.

OUT OF THE GATE: Fordham baseball has put together an aggressive schedule for 2010, heading into Atlantic 10 play in late March. The Rams have already seen Old Dominion, Duke, & Pittsburgh in three-game series, and will also match-up with Michigan later this week. Fordham was also supposed to play George Mason in a three-game series, but due to poor field conditions in Fairfax, Virginia.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Senior Angelo Ponte is batting .417 (5-12) over his last four games with three RBI... Senior Mike Mobbs has scored at least one run in five of the last six games, while hitting .333 (8-24) with two triples and a home run over his last seven games... After a slow start, senior Ryan McCrann has picked up the pace, hitting .318 (7-22) with three RBI in his last six games... Though he didn't pick up a decision, junior Brian Pendergast has been strong in his last two starts, posting a 0.64 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 14.0 innings to go with 14 strikeouts to just two walks... Senior Brando Casalicchio has relished his new role in the Fordham bullpen, posting a 0.00 ERA and one save in four appearances, while holding opponents to a .136 batting average.

HOT STARTS: No hitter in the Rams' line-up has been hotter than junior Chris Walker, who leads the Rams' in batting (.385), hits (20), doubles (6), and RBI (13). He also set a career-best hitting streak this season at nine games from February 20th through March 10th.

Sophomore Nick Martinez has also been solid at the plate and in the field. Martinez is batting .318 to go with a .444 on-base percentage, while defensively has been charged with only one error in 13 games