Box Score Feb. 26, 2011
Final Stats
Cathedral City, Calif. -
The Rams finished play in the Cathedral City Classic by splitting a pair of games with #20 LSU and Nevada. Fordham lost to LSU 6-2 in the opener and defeated Nevada by that identical score in the rubber game.
Game 1
With All-American, Jen Mineau in the circle, the prospect of facing another ranked team for the Rams seemed less daunting than usual. But early on, it was the Tigers who reached Mineau. In the bottom of the first, Anissa Young tagged her for a solo home run to open the scoring.
Fordham was quiet until the top of the third when Chelsea Palumbo led off and got hit by the pitch. After a Meghan Shager pop up, Palumbo advanced to third base on a Jocelyn Dearborn sacrifice bunt and a throwing error, which also allowed Dearborn to get into scoring position. Lindsey Kay Bright then bunted to third, but Palumbo was thrown out at home. Then Nicole Callahan struck out to end the inning.
The Rams had a more fortuitous inning in the fourth. Trailing 1-0, Gabby Luety reached second when shortstop Juliana Santos dropped a popup in the infield. Samantha Pellechio then walked. Jamie LaBovick also walked to load the bases. Two batters later, Palumbo singled to left-center scoring Brittany Longo, who had run for Luety. Pellechio also scored when centerfielder Simone Heyward made an errant throw back to the infield. Fordham had a 2-1 lead.
The Rams kept the slim lead until the bottom of the sixth when LSU pushed five runs across. After a leadoff walk, Cassie Trosclair reached on a fielder's choice. Heyward then doubled to right, putting two runners in scoring position. Two batters later, Young connected on her second home run of the game and the Tigers regained the lead, 4-2. Tammy Wray went back-to-back with a solo shot off Mineau, and Ashley Langoni hit the third-consecutive home run of the inning and LSU had a 6-2 win.
Brittany Mack earned the win for LSU, and Mineau got tagged for the loss for Fordham. Mineau threw six innings and allowed six earned runs, walked one batter and struck out eight. Offensively, Bright was 2-4 and Palumbo had a hit and an RBI.
Game 2
In the rubber game of the tournament, Fordham defeated Nevada, 6-2. This time, Chelsea Plimpton got the start and threw a complete game for her fourth win of the season.
It was the Wolfpack that took the early lead after the Rams went in order in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame, Karley Hopkins led off with a double down the left-field line. Danielle Patrick followed with a walk and two batters later, Britton Murdock made it 1-0 with an RBI single to right. Later in the inning, Murdock scored Nevada's second run when she was driven in courtesy of a single from Megan Fincher.
Fordham answered in its next at-bat. Luety led off the second with a single to center. Longo came in to run and got to second base when Pellechio walked. They both moved up on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Palumbo walked, but ball four was a wild pitch and Longo scored while Pellechio advanced to third. Jessica Crowley then walked to load the bases. Jocelyn Dearborn then cleared the bases with a 3 RBI triple and Fordham had a 4-2 lead.
In the very next inning, the Rams extended their lead. Callahan led off with a walk. She moved up to second on a wild pitch, where Brianna Ciuffi came in to run for her. Luety singled in the infield and advanced to second and Fordham had two runners in scoring position for Pellechio. Pellechio responded with a 2-RBI base hit up the middle that plated Ciuffi and Luety and gave Fordham a 6-2 lead. Nevada never threatened again and the Rams won 6-2.
In her complete game, Plimpton scattered six hits, walked three and struck out seven. Luety finished 3-3 in the game and Pellechio had a hit, an RBI and a run scored. Dearborn had a triple and three RBI.
Fordham will next see action on Friday, March 4, when they travel to Orlando, Florida to play in the 2011 Citrus Classic at the Wide World of Sports Complex. During that tournament the Rams will play Illinois State, Alabama, Illinois, Notre Dame and North Carolina. First up will be the Redbirds on Friday at 3:00 P.M.
