March 26, 2010
Fordham-Dayton Game Notes 
| GameTracker Game 1 
| GameTracker Game 2
BRONX, N.Y. - The Atlantic 10 opens league play this weekend and Fordham will begin their quest for a second regular season title and eighth-straight tournament berth with a Sunday doubleheader at Dayton. The Rams and Flyers will play eachother on March 28 at UD Softball Stadium in Dayton. First pitch in the two-game set is slated for noon.
Fordham fans can follow the action from the field on Fordham softball's new Twitter Page: @FordhamSoftball. Dayton will also provide live stats via GameTracker on DaytonFlyers.com.
With the road trip to Dayton, Fordham will be playing their sixth consecutive weekend away from the Bronx. The Rams are currently on a seven-game road swing, the doubleheader at Dayton will be their eighth and nine. Fordham is riding a three-game winning streak and have won nine of their last 10 games. The second game of the Dayton doubleheader will mark head coach Bridget Orchard's 500th game at the helm of the Fordham softball program. Orchard is 294-203-1 (.590) overall and turned the program around in her eight years with the Rams.
The Rams are 21-6 overall, while the Flyers are 9-14. Dayton was supposed to host La Salle on Friday and Saturday to open its A-10 competition, but Friday's game was rained out. Instead the Flyers will play a doubleheader vs. the Explorers on Saturday.
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton is 9-14 so far this season as the Flyers head in the Atlantic 10 play. The Flyers have played their last eight games at home, 10 after they face La Salle on March 27. Dayton is 3-5 at home so far in 2010. Dayton defeated Youngstown State twice in a doubleheader on March 20 and IPFW on March 16 in a doubleheader split.
So far, the Rams and Flyers have only played one common opponent in Ball State. Ball State defeated Dayton twice in a doubleheader at Dayton on March 24. Ball State won 7-2 in the first game and 5-0 in the second. Against Fordham on March 7, Ball State won 11-1.
The Flyers are led behind the plate by Kathleen Maloof with an average of .385. Maloof is 25-for-65 with 17 runs, a team best, seven doubles and three home runs. Lauren Nacke leads Dayton in homers with four. Brandy Brown is Dayton's RBI leader with 15.
In the circle, the Flyers give time to three hurlers, Eva Rappe (4-3), Sarah Wedel (3-6) and Amanda Daly (2-5). Rappe has seen the most time as a starter, starting 10 games. She's pitched one shutout so far. Daly is the team's strikeout leader with 36 in 50 innings pitched.
RAMS VS. FLYERS - THE SERIES
Overall, Dayton holds a one-game lead over Fordham in a series history dating back to 1996, Fordham's first year in the Atlantic 10.
Since 2002, Fordham has held a 12-5 advantage over Dayton. In 2002, the Flyers defeated the Rams in all three meetings, all at Dayton. Fordham won the next five-consecutive meetings until 2005 when Dayton defeated the Rams in the second game of a doubleheader in the Bronx, 4-2. Fordham won the first game 7-2.
Fordham's most decisive win over Dayton was in 2006 when the Rams defeated the Flyers 11-0 in six innings. The game was played at Dayton.
The last time the Rams and Flyers played in at the UD Softball Complex in 2008, Fordham and Dayton split the doubleheader. The Rams won 10-9 in the first game, while the Flyers won the second game 7-3.
WHEN LAST THEY MET
Fordham and Dayton last met on April 19, 2009 in a doubleheader at Bahoshy Softball Complex. The Rams swept the Flyers 8-0 (6 innings), 7-1 in front of a crowd of 422 people.
Then-rookie Jen Mineau pitched both games, earning her 10th win of the season. In game one, Mineau and Chelsea Plimpton combined for a six-hit shutout.
Melissa Andrews was 4-for-4 at the plate, while Jessica Weckenman hit a three-run homer. Meghan Shager scored the eventual game-winner as the run rule went into effect in the sixth inning. Shager singled up the middle to score Mary Beth Puccio.
In game two, Andrews and Jocelyn Dearborn had three hits each.
For Fordham the game commemorated its 25th year of the softball program as well as its 2009 Senior Class.
LAST TIME OUT - WIGGINS WOWS ALL
RAMS POUND PEAHENS
Fordham swept the Saint Peter's Peahens of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a 21-1 five-inning blowout in game one and a 12-1 six-inning victory in game two.
Five All-Time Fordham softball records were broken or tied as the Rams outscored the Peahens 33-2. Junior Beckah Wiggins broke the RBI record in a game with nine, previously held by Allison Twarowski and Melissa Andrews with seven in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Wiggins also tied the record for hits in a game with five. Twarowski and Marie Mitchell also share the title. Twarowski had five hits against Buffalo on March 15, 2006, the same game as her seven RBI. Mitchell had five against La Salle on April 12, 2001. Wiggins also ties the long list of players with two homeruns in game. Wiggins tied a fourth individual record with 11 total bases, also the same as Twarowski against Buffalo.
For the doubleheader, Wiggins had 11 RBI and hit .889, 8-for-9 with five runs and a triple to go along with her five hits and two homers.
Wiggins' grandslam in the top of the fifth inning was the first grandslam hit by a Fordham player since Allison Storc did on March 28, 2008 against Iona. Storc had a walk-off grandslam in the 9-1 Rams victory.
Fordham had 25 hits in the 21-1 victory, breaking the previous hits record of 22.
The first game was also a career day for Erin Fisher who had four hits, and Jocelyn Dearborn with three runs.
For Fisher it was also a season-best outing with three RBI and four runs. Dearborn's three hits were also a season-high.
Samantha Pellechio returned to the lineup for the first time since the game against Oregon State on Feb. 26. Pellechio was 1-for-6 with a run and three walks. Pellechio was out with a face injury.
ON DECK
Up next, Fordham has a busy week at home, with the start of a 12-game home stretch. Fordham begins their week with a non-conference doubleheader against St. John's on Wednesday, March 31 at 4 p.m. The Rams will return to Atlantic 10 action with a quick turnaround and doubleheader against Rhode Island on Thursday, April 1 and a doubleheader against conference-rival Massachusetts on Saturday, April 3. Both A-10 doubeheaders will begin at noon.
