March 10, 2011

Fordham Baseball Game Notes | CSU Video (Pay) | Live Stats

Charleston, S.C. - The Fordham baseball team looks to continue their winning ways in Charleston, South Carolina this weekend, as the Rams play the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in a four-game series.

The Rams are 9-2 and off to one of its best starts in team history, while Charleston Southern is 7-5 on the year with a 6-3 mark at home.

The Buccaneers won all three previous meetings with Rams, as the Buccaneers swept a three-game series back in 2005.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday - RHP Brian Pendergast (1-1) vs. RHP Stew Brase (1-1) | Live Stats
Saturday - RHP Max Krakowiak (2-0) vs. RHP Patrick Dolan (0-1) | Live Stats
Sunday - RHP Daniel Munday (0-0) vs. RHP Jesse Canenhead (1-1) | Live Stats
Monday - RHP John Flanagan (1-0) vs. TBA | Live Stats

SCOUTING CHARLESTON SOUTHERN: The Buccaneers are 7-5 this season, after falling to USC Upstate by a 13-10 score on Wednesday, which snapped a four-game win streak. The series against Fordham will end a nine-game homestand for the Buccaneers.

At the plate, Brantley Meier and Derek Smith are off to solid openings. Meier is a .419 hitter (18-43) with 11 runs scored and six stolen bases in nine attempts, while Smith is a .356 hitter with a team-high four home runs and 13 RBI. Charleston Southern also has two other .400 hitters in Walt Quattlebaum (.444) and Matt Still (.407).

On the bump, Charleston Southern will send the trio of RHP Stew Brase, RHP Patrick Dolan, and RHP Jesse Cadenhead as starters with Monday's starter listed as TBA. Brase is 1-1 in three starts with a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 innings, while Dolan is 0-1 in three appearances with a 2.61 ERA, a .171 opponent batting average, and 12 strikeouts in 10.1 innings. Fordham will also see Cadenhead on Sunday, who is 1-1 with an 8.44 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 16 innings of work.

In the bullpen, Corey Deighan already has four saves in seven appearances with a 6.43 ERA, while only allowing a .130 batting average.

LAST TIME OUT: Behind five innings of two-hit relief from the Fordham bullpen and multi-hit games from Joe Russo and Ryan Lee, the Rams posted their ninth win in 11 starts with a 7-3 win over the New York Tech Bears at Houlihan Park on Tuesday.

Fordham reliever Rich Anastasi along with bullpen mates, Joseph Charest and Chris Pike, would hold onto that 7-3 win with a combined five innings of two-hit relief and nine strikeouts.

Anastasi (3-0) was credited with the win, allowing just one hit in three innings of relief with six strikeouts. Charest pitched a scoreless eighth as he got out of a bases loaded jam with a double play, while Pike struck out three batters in the ninth to close out the win.

At the plate, Lee was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI, while Russo added three hits and two RBI. Nick Martinez was also 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and a stolen base.

Ryan Lee NAMED ATLANTIC 10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (3/7): Fordham University sophomore outfielder Ryan Lee (Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week by the conference office. It is his second career weekly honor, having received Rookie of the Week honors once last year.

Lee put together an incredible week, hitting .714 (10-14) with four runs scored, two doubles, and three RBI, as Fordham went 3-1 on the week. Currently riding a five-game hit streak, he posted a .778 on-base percentage and .857 slugging percentage, recorded four multi-hit games, including three-hit contests against Wake Forest and Radford and tied a career-high with three runs scored against Towson.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Sophomore Ryan Lee is hitting .591 (13-22) over his first six games of the season... Moving from third base to shortstop, Ryan Maghini is hitting .295 (13-44) over his first 11 games to go with nine runs scored, three doubles, and three home runs... Joe Russo has fit nicely into the designated hitter role, batting .386 (17-44) over his first 11 games to go with 10 runs scored... Nick Martinez is batting .302 (13-43) to open the season, scoring 11 runs... Chris Walker has a .316 batting average in 2011 to go with two home runs and a team-best 12 RBI... Brian Kownacki is a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts to go with nine runs scored and eight RBI in 11 games... On the hill, Max Krakowiak is 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 17.2 innings with 22 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .136... Chris Pike has three saves in five appearances out of the bullpen to go with a 0.75 ERA, 17 strikeouts, and .222 opponent batting average... Brian Pendergast has a 1.45 ERA in three starts, posting 14 strikeouts and a 1-1 record in 18.2 innings... Tim Swatek has 13 strikeouts and a 4.50 ERA in 10.0 innings of work to open the year.

UPCOMING GAMES: Following this series, the Rams travel to Campbell for a single game on March 16th. The Rams then return to local action as the team participates at the Strike Out Cancer Tournament, hosted at Seton Hall, March 18th-20th. Fordham will have single games against Seton Hall, Stony Brook, and NJIT. Fordham will then have a mid-week match-up with Stony Brook on March 24th.