March 5, 2010
Bronx, N.Y. - This weekend, the Fordham women's softball team travels to Clearwater, Fla., to the Eddie C. More Complex for their fourth trip to the University of South Florida's Under Armour Invitational.
Fordham (6-3) will begin the tournament with a pair of games on Friday as the Rams face Florida International at 6 p.m. and Florida Gulf Coast at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, the Rams have little time for rest as they face Central Michigan in the 10:30 a.m. slot, followed by a game vs. Memphis at 12:30 p.m.
Fordham will finish up the tournament on Sunday, with a single game against Ball State at 9 a.m.
RANKED RAMS: The Fordham Rams are rated among the nation's best in this week's USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll, as the team received a vote in the March 2 poll for the first time in team history. Fordham was one of 14 teams outside of the top 25 to receive at least one vote this week. Fordham is 6-3 so far this season, after a strong performance at the Palm Springs Classic, where the Rams were 3-2 with wins over then #19/24 Texas A&M, Oregon State, and UNLV. For the third time in four weeks, the Washington Huskies received all 30 first-place votes to remain at No. 1. The Huskies have now held the No. 1 spot for four consecutive editions of the poll.
MINEAU & LABOVICK EARN A-10 WEEKLY HONORS: After a successful weekend in Cathedral City, Calif., sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Hoosic Valley Central) and freshman Jamie LaBovick (Peoria, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) were both selected as Atlantic 10 weekly award winners for softball today, as Mineau earned her second Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week accolade, while LaBovick was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for her first career honor. Mineau (5-1), who shared this week's pitching honor with Charlotte's Emily Jeffrey, earns her second Pitcher of the Week award this season and fourth of her career. At this weekend's Palm Springs Classic, she posted three wins, two shutouts, and 44 strikeouts in five appearances. LaBovick registers her first A-10 honor after connecting for two home runs and four RBI at the Palm Springs Classic. She sealed the Rams' 4-0 victory over #19/24 Texas A&M with a two-run home run, and later had a two-run homer in Fordham's shutout win over UNLV. LaBovick made two pitching appearances as well, with her best performance coming against #13/14 California, where she threw 2.1 innings of one-hit relief. LaBovick is now hitting .261 on the season, while posting a 1.05 ERA in the circle.
LAST TIME OUT: Fordham went 3-2 at the Palm Springs Classic hosted by Oregon State in Cathedral City, Calif., with a 4-0 upset victory over No. 19/24 Texas A&M to open the tournament, a 3-2 win over Oregon State on Friday and a final 4-0 shutout over the UNLV Rebels. Sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau tallied two shut outs over the weekend.
FORDHAM FAST FACTS: The Rams are led by junior shortstop Samantha Pellechio (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon) with a batting average of .417. Pellechio who has started all nine games for the Rams in 2010 has a team-high .517 on base percentage, four RBI and five runs with 10 hits. Pellechio is backed by junior thirdbaseman Jocelyn Dearborn (New Milford, Pa./Blue Ridge) who is hitting .400 with 12 hits and six RBI. She has a slugging percentage of .633 and a fielding percentage of .955, with 12 assists and nine putouts behind the plate. In the circle, Fordham has sophomore Jen Mineau (5-1) who has tallied 75 strike outs over 39 innings for a 0.72 ERA. Mineau has started six games and has only allowed 21 hits and six runs. With Jamie LaBovick and junior Chelsea Plimton (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville South/St. John's), the Rams' pitching staff has a combined ERA of 1.24.
LAST TIME IN CLEARWATER: Last season, the Rams went 5-2 at the Under Armour Invitational (March 6-10), including one extra inning game and one mercy-rule win. Fordham opening the invitational with a 7-6, eight-inning victory over Lehigh, before losing to host school, USF, 2-0. Fordham defeated Virginia Tech, Hofstra and a doubleheader against St. Peter's. In the 9-0, five-inning shut out over St. Peter's in the second game, then-rookie Jen Mineau threw the second-ever perfect game in Fordham history as she struck out a then-season high 12 batters.
ON DECK: Fordham will travel to Atlanta, Ga., for a tournament hosted by Georgia Tech next weekend. In Atlanta, the Rams will face Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Mercer and Seton Hall. The tournament starts on March 13 and continues through March 14.
