April 13, 2010

Piscataway, N.J. - The Fordham baseball team concludes a five-game road trip on Tuesday with a mid-week game at Rutgers. Both teams are coming off series wins this past weekend, as Fordham grabbed two of three from St. Bonaventure, while Rutgers posted two wins out of three games at Notre Dame.

Rutgers is one of oldest and longest running teams that Fordham has played over the past 150 years. The first game between the two schools dates back to May 18, 1882. Of the known scores between the two schools, Rutgers holds a 28-27-3 record against Fordham.

GAME COVERAGE:
Fordham-Rutgers Game Notes | Listen | GameTracker

PROBABLE STARTERS:
LHP Ryan DeMartino (2-0) vs. LHP Dennis Hill (1-4)

SCOUTING RUTGERS: Rutgers is 17-13 on the season, 7-2 in the Big East Conference, having won each of their last five weekend series.

The Scarlet Knights are hitting .306 as a team, averaging 7.9 runs per game. Rutgers is led individually by the duo of Steve Nyisztor and Pat Biserta. Nyisztor leads the team with a .405 batting average to go with 10 doubles, 28 RBI and 32 runs scored, while Biserta has a team-best 12 home runs and 35 RBI to go with a .360 batting average.

On the mound, Rutgers has a team ERA of 6.52, while allowing a .326 opponent batting average. Casey Gaynor has been their top starter, posting a 4-3 record with a 5.80 ERA and 34 strikeouts in eight starts. Tyler Gerber is the team's closer, recording six saves with a 1.50 ERA in 15 appearances.

NO APRIL FOOLS HERE: The opening game of the Fordham-Rhode Island series on April 1st could pretty much be summed up in one word: marathon. The game went 15 innings, which tied for the third longest in Fordham history, but went Rhode Island's way in the top of the 15th to give URI a 6-5 win at Houlihan Park.

The 15-inning game tied for the third longest game in Fordham baseball history with a 15-inning contest between Fordham and Seton Hall on April 27, 1966, which stood alone as the longest home game at Houlihan Park/Jack Coffey Field.

The only longer games were a 16-inning game versus St. John's (5/10/1948) and the second longest game in NCAA history, a 19-inning affair against Clemson in the 1988 NCAA Tournament.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Going 6-5 in their last 11 games, the Fordham Rams are batting .320 as a team over that stretch, while posting a 4.68 team ERA on the hill... Brian Kownacki has a career-high 11-game hit streak going, the longest by a Ram this season, where he is batting .380 (19-50) over that stretch with six doubles, five stolen bases, and 12 RBI... Since taking over as the starting leftfielder on March 27th, Ryan Lee is hitting .319 (15-47) with 12 runs scored, four doubles, and 10 RBI.... Mike Mobbs is hitting .364 (20-55) over his last 11 games with five double, two home runs, and eight RBI. He has also scored at least two runs in six of those 11 games... Ryan McCrann is batting .360 (18-50) with 15 runs scored and 10 RBI in his last 11 games... In three conferenge starts, Brian Pendergast and Max Krakowiak have been strong, as Pendergast is 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 18.2 innings, while Krakowiak is also 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.

HOT STARTS: No hitter in the Rams' line-up has been more consistent than junior Chris Walker this season. He leads the Rams' in batting (.342), hits (41), doubles (15), and RBI (28). He also set a career-best hitting streak this season at nine games from February 20th through March 10th.

Senior Mike Mobbs has been fantastic for the Rams, hitting .336 with a team-best 32 runs scored to go with 10 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 13 RBI.

CALLING FOR LEFTY: Over the past two seasons, the Rams have had a short list of left-handed pitchers to call upon, namely J.P. Mack, who was the only left-handed pitcher on the roster.

In 2010, Mack has finally gotten some help with the additions of freshmen lefties Rich Anastasi, Ryan DeMartino, and Dan Sorine Anastasi and DeMartino have started off their Fordham careers well through the first portion of the season.

Anastasi has made 12 appearances, 11 out of the bullpen, posting a 4.09 ERA in 22.0 innings with 18 strikeouts, while DeMartino has recorded two wins and 11 strikeouts in eight appearances.

So far, Sorine has appeared in four games as a pitcher, earning his first career save on March 31st against Fairfield with a season-high four strikeouts.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Rams return home for a three-game series this weekend against Saint Louis from April 16-18. Game times are set for 4:00 PM Friday, 1:00 PM Saturday, and Noon on Sunday. Fordham then faces Iona on April 20th at home, beginning at 7:00 PM, before heading to St. John's on Wednesday, April 21st for a 6:00 PM game.