May 15, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. - After a record-breaking semi-final on Friday, the top two seeds will meet for the second time in two days as the No. 2 Fordham Rams will play the No. 1 Massachusetts Minutewomen for a chance to win the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
The Championship game, scheduled for 2 p.m., will be a win and win it all situation for Fordham, while UMass will need to two win two games against the Rams for the 2010 crown. A second game will be played at 4 p.m. if needed.
Fordham is riding a 21-game win streak after defeating UMass for the first time in A10 Championship history in Thursday's Semi Final, 7-5. The last time Fordham played in the Championship game was in 2006, where the Rams lost to UMass, 4-1.
UMass was sent to the elimination bracket on Thursday and had to play their way back into the Championship, defeating No. 3 Charlotte, 9-4, on their way. UMass' Sarah Reeves set a new home run tournament record with four in their run to the Championship game.
Fordham has set records of their own in their quest for their first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship crown. Jen Mineau pitched the first-ever perfect game and rookie Jamie LaBovick tied the record for most RBI in a game with a season-best of five. Her two home runs against UMass also tied the A10 record. Together, with six home runs in their semi final match up, Fordham and UMass set the record for most home runs in an A10 tournament game.
RAMS VS. MINUTEWOMEN - THE SERIES
The series between the Rams and the Minutewomen has been dominated by a 39-4 UMass lead. Since starting Atlantic 10 play in 1996, UMass held a 23-0 jump on Fordham until 2005, when Fordham got their first win, 4-2 at home against their foes from New England. The Rams eventually swept the series, winning the second game 14-6 in six innings. In the A-10 tournament, UMass got the better of Fordham, winning 8-2 in the first game and 7-0 to knock the Rams out of title contention.
Fordham got its first A10 Championship win over UMass on May 14, 2010 with a 7-5 victory over the No. 21/23 Minutewomen. UMass leads the postseason series 9-1. The loss for UMass was their first at home since Fordham defeated them 5-4 in an upset victory in 2009.
UMass swept Fordham in their doubleheader meeting earlier this season on April 3. The Minutewomen won 2-0 in the first game and 3-2 in the second.
WHEN LAST THEY MET
Instead of the pitchers' duel between the two best hurlers in the Atlantic 10, fans who came out to see the Atlantic 10 semi-final game between the No. 1 Minutewomen and No. 2 Rams were treated to a combined six-home run display, as A10 Rookie of the Year, Jamie LaBovick, got the best of A10 Pitcher of the Year Sarah Plourde with an eventual game-winning three-run rip in the seventh inning. LaBovick's three-run homer helped Fordham to a 7-5 victory over Massachusetts, earning the Rams a berth to the A10 Championship final.
Sara Reeves hit another home run, her third of the tournament at the time, to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning for UMass. Fordham's Samantha Pellechio answered with a two-run homer in the next at bat, and LaBovick hit the first of her two homers in the third to give Fordham a 4-2 lead.
The win was the first victory for the Rams over a UMass team in their 10 meetings during A10 tournament time. LaBovick's 5 RBI were a A10 Championship record.
FORDHAM AT THE A-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fordham is 11-14 overall in Atlantic 10 Championship play since the Rams entered the league in 1996. Fordham won the first game of the 2010 tournament, 1-0, with a perfect game over Charlotte then went on to defeat No. 21/23 UMass, the top seed in the tournament, 7-5 in the A10 Semifinal.
Fordham has only been a No. 2 seed one other time in their eight-straight tournament appearances. In 2007, the Rams were awarded a No. 2 seed after finishing 16-4 in the league. Fordham got the first round bye, then defeated Saint Louis, 10-2 (5 innings) in Game 5 before losing to UMass, 5-0, in Game 8 and falling 4-2 in their rematch against the Billikens in Game 9.
Fordham is most consistently a No. 4 seed and are 4-8 as No. 4.
The highest seeding for a Fordham softball team was a No. 1 seed in 2005. In 2005, there were only four teams to make the Championships so no first-round bye was awarded. Fordham lost to the Minutewomen, 7-0 in the final game.
