Box Score May 1, 2010
Final Stats
Bronx, N.Y. -
Yesterday it was La Salle's pitching duo that stole the headline. On Saturday, it was Fordham's turn, as Max Krakowiak and Jordan Grangard combined for a three-hitter, while Brian Kownacki and Michael Taddei both homered, as the Rams knocked off the La Salle Explorers, 6-1, at Houlihan Park.
With the win, Fordham improves to 15-28 overall, 9-8 in the Atlantic 10, while La Salle falls to 15-25 overall, 9-8 in the league.
Fordham found a knack of getting out of early inning jams, the Explorers had the leadoff man reach in four of the first six innings. The Rams countered with catcher Chris Walker, who threw out three of those four on stolen base attempts, to keep La Salle's scoring opportunities to a minimum.
The Rams opened with a 2-0 lead through two innings using the long ball, as Brian Kownacki hit a solo home run to left in the first inning, his first of the season, while Michael Taddei hit a solo home run to left center in the second inning, his third of the year.
La Salle cut the lead to 2-1 as the one leadoff man that Walker didn't throw out, Brendan Norton, scored on an RBI-double by Chris Umstead with two outs in the fourth.
Fordham got that run back in the bottom of the fifth off Walker's bat, as Ryan Lee reached on a bunt single, moved to third on a pair of walks, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Walker, making it a 3-1 game.
The Rams then took advantage of a La Salle error in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead. Taddei led off with a single up the middle, and moved to second on a ground ball.
P.J. Como then hit a bouncer to shortstop, which Brian Meagher couldn't handle, allowing Taddei to score from second.
Fordham tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth, as Taddei started the damage with his third hit of the afternoon, a single up the middle. Mike Mobbs followed with a triple to right center, scoring Taddei, while Mobbs scored on a sacrifice fly by Como.
Fordham starter Max Krakowiak (4-3) was able to pitch out of a couple of tough spots for his fourth win of the season, allowing one run on three hits with seven walks and four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Reliever Jordan Grangard posted his third save of the season, pitching the final 2.1 innings without allowing a hit.
At the plate, Taddei matched a career-high with three hits, while scoring a career-high three runs. Kownacki was 2-for-3 with a home run and reached base four times with Ryan Maghini going 2-for-4 with seven assists at the hot corner defensively.
The ever important rubber game of this series is set for 1:00 PM on Sunday.
