Box Score May 14, 2010
Box Score
Arlington, Va. -
With their Atlantic 10 playoff life hanging in the balance this weekend, the Fordham baseball team needed a strong start in Friday's opener at George Washington. The team got just that as Max Krakowiak picked up his sixth win of the season, while Chris Walker tied the Fordham single season doubles mark and had four RBI, as the Rams posted an 11-4 win at Barcroft Park in Arlington, Va.
With the win, Fordham is now 12-10 in the Atlantic 10, 18-31 overall, while George Washington is also 12-10 in the league, 24-25 overall.
Fordham jumped out to an immediate 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as the team once again struck with some two-out magic. With Ryan McCrann at second after an error and a wild pitch, Chris Walker connected for his 20th double of the season to score McCrann for the game's opening run. The double made Walker only the fourth Fordham player to have 20 doubles in a season, joining Mike Marchiano (21 - 1997), Mike D'Auria (20-1997), and Bobby Kingsbury (20 - 2002).
Angelo Ponte followed the Walker double with a single to center, scoring Walker for a 2-0 lead. Stephen McSherry and Mike Mobbs continued the inning with back-to-back singles, with Ponte scoring on the Mobbs single.
George Washington picked up two runs in the bottom of the frame to close within, 3-2, as the Colonials received RBI-doubles from Chris Luick and Chris Holland.
Fordham put up another three-spot in the top of the fourth inning to extend the lead to 6-2. Ryan Maghini led off the inning with a solo home run to center, the first of his career. Nick Martinez then reached on an error and moved to second on a single by McCrann. Walker drove home Martinez with a single through the right side with McCrann moving to third. After a Walker stolen base, Ponte plated McCrann with an RBI-ground out.
The Rams continued to pour on the offense in the top of the sixth inning, as Brian Kownacki singled to right with one out, and slid in safely to second on an error. Kownacki was then able to beat out a McCrann fielder's choice to third, leaving runners and first and third for Walker. Walker kept his hot bat going with another double, this time down the left field line, scoring both Kownacki and McCrann for an 8-2 edge. McSherry and Mobbs kept things going with back-to-back RBI-singles, giving Fordham a 10-2 lead.
Fordham added another run in the seventh as the Rams had first and second with two outs after singles by Maghini and Kownacki. McCrann would strike out swinging, but the pitch went wild, allowing Maghini to score all the way from second base.
The Colonials picked up single runs in the eighth and ninth inning following two delays, one for rain, the other for lightning, but were not enough against the Fordham pitching staff. Starter Max Krakowiak (6-3) recorded his team-leading sixth win of the season, allowing two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts in seven innings of work. Ryan DeMartino pitched the eighth, while Jeremy Adel and Jordan Grangard were able to close out the win in the ninth.
At the plate, Walker finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and tied a career-high with four RBI. The two doubles gave Walker 21 on the season, tying Marchiano's Fordham single season record of 21, set in 1997. McSherry finished with three hits, while Mobbs had four hits and two RBI. Maghini, Martinez, and Kownacki each had a pair of hits, while McCrann scored three runs.
The same two teams will meet for a 1:00 PM game on Saturday.
