April 13, 2011

Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham baseball team looks to continue some momentum from Sunday's win over St. Bonaventure on Sunday, as they meet the LIU Blackbirds on Wednesday at Houlihan Park. It is the fourth of eight straight home games for the Rams. So far, Fordham is 1-2 on this homestand.

This will be the 49th all-time meeting between Fordham and LIU with the Rams holding a 34-14 edge in the all-time series. Fordham has won 11 of the last 12 meetings including the last four.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Fordham - RHP Daniel Munday (0-0) vs. LIU - RHP Skye Freeman (0-0) |

SCOUTING LIU: The Blackbirds are 16-12 on the season, with an 8-4 mark in the NEC. The Blackbirds are batting .284 on the season and have five regulars batting .280 or better, led by Tyler Jones, who leads the squad with a .458 batting average (44-96), 25 runs scored, four triples, and 23 RBI. Sam Sciamarelli is second on the squad with a .308 average to go with 23 runs scored, nine doubles and 13 RBI.

On the hill, LIU will send RHP Skye Freeman against the Rams on Wednesday. Freeman is 0-0 in three appearances with a 7.36 ERA and eight strikeouts in 11.0 innings pitched.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Chris Walker has caught fire as of late with a 12-game hitting streak entering this week. Over that streak, he is hitting .404 (21-52) with nine runs scored, six doubles, and seven RBI... Ryan Lee is batting .347 (17-49) over his last 12 games with 11 runs scored and eight RBI... Ryan Maghini is hitting .412 in his last four games with seven hits and two RBI... Ryan David is hitting .313 (5-16) in his last four games with six RBI... On the hill, Chris Pike has three saves and a 4-1 record in 10 appearances to go with a 2.49 ERA, 48 strikeouts, and .223 opponent batting average... Rich Anastasi is 4-0 in 12 appearances, posting a 2.00 ERA and 21 strikeouts... Tim Swatek has 18 strikeouts, three saves, and a 2.08 ERA in 21.2 innings of work to open the year... Jonathan Reich has still yet to allow an earned run in 17.2 innings of relief.

UPCOMING GAMES: Following today's game, the Rams continue their eight-game homestand with a three-game series with the George Washington Colonials from April 15-17. The homestand concludes with a home game against Iona on April 19. The Rams then hit the road for a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Charlotte (Apr. 22-24).