April 23, 2010
BRONX, N.Y. - Fordham softball will face a weekend in Philadelphia as they play four games against Atlantic 10 oppponents, Temple and Saint Joseph's. The Rams will face the Owls in a two-day series starting Friday at 3 p.m., then stay in Philadelphia for a Sunday noon doubleheader at Saint Joseph's. The game against Saint Joseph's will be played at Drexel's softball complex, Vidas Field.
Fordham (37-8, 10-2 Atlantic 10) is currently riding an 11-game winning streak. The Rams held on to a mid-week win at Hofstra on Tuesday, with a 1-0 shutout - won by shortstop Samantha Pellechio with a seventh-inning homer. The Rams have had success on the road this season, undefeated at 12-0.
Temple (14-23, 3-5 A10) is coming off a midweek doubleheader loss to Army (April 20), while Saint Joseph's will be coming off a two-day set against George Washington on Friday and Saturday. The Hawks played a single game against Lafayette on Wednesday, and won 4-1.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple has only played eight games in conference this year so far, compared to Fordham's 12 games. The Owls lost a doubleheader to Saint Louis (L - 5-2, 8-1) on March 27 to start Atlantic 10 play, then took two from St. Bonaventure (April 1-2), winning 8-0 and 8-3. Since then, the Owls split with Dayton and lost two at Charlotte, who is tied with Fordham for second in the conference.
At the plate, Danielle Fagan leads the Owls with a batting average of .313. Fagan is the only Owl batting over .300. Fagan leads the team in hits (35) and RBI (31). Ali Robinson is the team's run leader with 26. Robinson is second on the team in batting with a .287 average.
The Owls have a four-person staff in the circle, led by Kristen Marris with a 8-10 record, 93 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA. Her No. 2 is Crystal Nyman with a 4.88 ERA, 5-12 record and 35 K count.
RAMS VS. OWLS - THE SERIES
Fordham and Temple started their series in 1996 and have only played each other in Atlantic 10 contests. Temple leads the overall series 17-12, but Fordham has a two-game (9-7) advantage over the Owls since head coach Bridget Orchard took over. The Owls and Rams have only met once in the postseason, and Temple won 1-0, knocking Fordham out of the A10 tourney.
Fordham and Temple have played eachother in four extra inning games. The Rams have won all four.
From 2005-2008, Fordham won six-straight games against Temple.
WHEN LAST THEY MET
The Rams and Owls last met on April 5, 2009 - as Temple traveled to Rose Hill for a doubleheader. Fordham and Temple split the twin bill as Temple won the first game 6-0 and Fordham won the second, 5-3.
In the 5-3 victory, Samantha Pellechio hit her seventh home run of 2009 and drove in four of the Rams' five runs. With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Pellechio hit a two-run homer to give Fordham the final lead.
In the first game, Temple scored four runs in the first inning.
Fordham hosted Temple the day after the Rams took two games from Saint Joseph's.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Joseph's has also only played eight Atlantic 10 contests, but will have two more under their wings by the time the Rams and Hawks meet on Sunday.
The Hawks most recently lost a doubleheader at Charlotte (April 16-17), won two at Dayton (April 9-10) and split against St. Bonaventure (April 3). SJU started their season with a doubleheader loss to Saint Louis on March 28.
Like the Owls, Saint Joseph's has only one player batting over .300, Bernadette Moran. Moran has a .304 average and is the team's runs and hits leader with 17 and 31. Brooke Darreff, batting a .271, is SJU's RBI-leader with 22.
In the circle, it's only a two-person staff for SJU with Erin Gallagher and Taryn Ashway. Gallagher has a 15-7 record with a team-best 1.63 ERA. She's struck out 171 batters and has garnered a .171 opposing batting average. Ashway has appeared in 24 games for the Hawks with a 4-7 record, 3.73 ERA and 60 strikeouts. The pair both have equal earned runs (38).
RAMS VS. HAWKS - THE SERIES
Fordham and Saint Joseph's also have a series dating back to 1996. The Hawks have a 10-game, 24-14 series jump on the Rams' with most of their wins coming before 2002. Since 2002 and the Bridget Orcchard Era, Fordham has a 13-8 series lead.
The Rams and Hawks have a postseason histroy as SJU knocked them out of the 2009 Atlantic 10 tournament. They have met five times in the A10 tourney, with the postseason series 3-2 in favor of Fordham.
At Saint Joseph's since 2002, Fordham has a 5-1 series lead.
WHEN LAST THEY MET
The Rams and Hawks last met on May 8, 2009 at Rose Hill in the 2009 Atlantic 10 tournament. With a 7-3 victory for SJU, the Hawks knocked Fordham out of the league tournamet in Game 6. Fordham had defeated SJU in the first game of the tournament, 5-3. In the 7-3 loss, the Rams were scoreless until the fifth inning when Erin Fisher hit a two-out solo home run. The Rams scored twice more in the sixth, but the six runs the Hawks scored in the third inning were enough for the win.
LAST TIME OUT -- PELLECHIO POUNDS PRIDE
Junior Samantha Pellechio, has been quite successful against the Pride of Hofstra. In the two of the three games she has played against Hofstra she has had two home runs for three RBI.
On Wednesday, it was a similiar story as Pellechio hit a solo homer with two outs in the seventh inning to win the game between the Rams and Pride.
It was a pitchers' duel as the Rams' sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau faced Hofstra's No. 1 rookie hurler, Olivia Galati. Mineau got the better of Galati, striking her out twice out of Galati's three at bats in a head-to-head battle and striking out 13 pride batters. Mineau tallied her 11th complete game shut out of the season, which advances her record to 24-5 overall. With 24 wins, she ties the single season win record for a Fordham pitcher.
Fordham only got three hits in seven innings. Hofstra only had two.
ON DECK
The Rams will face local foe Iona in New Rochell for a single game on Tuesday, April 27. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
