April 21, 2011

Fordham Baseball Game Notes

Charlotte, N.C. - The Fordham baseball team takes its current six-game win streak on the road to meet the Charlotte 49ers in a pivotal three-game Atlantic 10 series. The 49ers currently sit atop the Atlantic 10 standing with a 9-3 record, while Fordham is in a three-way tie for second at 6-3.

Charlotte holds a 9-3 all-time series lead over the Rams, but in its last visit to Charlotte, Fordham won two of three games.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday - RHP Brian Pendergast (1-5) vs. RHP - Andrew Smith (7-1) | Live Stats
Saturday - RHP Chris Pike (4-1) vs. RHP Corey Roberts (7-1) | Live Stats
Friday - RHP Max Krakowiak (4-4) vs. RHP - Tyler Barnette (4-1) | Live Stats

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE: The 49ers are 29-8 on the season and have been in the national rankings for the past few weeks, reaching as high as 25th in the country. The team is batting .305 as a group with a league-best 2.07 ERA on the mound.

At the plate, Cory Tilton has been one of the 49ers' leaders, batting .316 with 34 runs scored, nine doubles, 38 RBI and 22 stolen bases, while Justin Wilson is hitting .333 with 25 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

On the hill, Charlotte will send the trio of RHP Andrew Smith, RHP Corey Roberts, and RHP Tyler Barnette up against Fordham. The group ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the Atlantic 10 this season. Smith will go on Friday, follwed by Roberts and Barnette. Smith and Roberts are both 7-1 this season with ERAs of 1.34 and 1.70 this season, while Barnette is 4-1 with a 1.26 ERA.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Chris Walker has caught fire as of late with a 15-game hitting streak that was snapped on Sunday. Over that streak, he hit .431 (28-65) with 12 runs scored, seven doubles, and 11 RBI... Ryan Maghini has a career-long 11-game hitting streak, going into this weekend. He is hitting .381 in that stretch (16-42) with eight runs scored and nine RBI... Tim Swatek is batting .357 over his last 10 games (10-28) with seven runs scored and six RBI... On the hill, Chris Pike has three saves and a 4-1 record in 11 appearances to go with a 2.36 ERA, 48 strikeouts, and .223 opponent batting average... Rich Anastasi is 4-0 in 13 appearances, posting a 1.71 ERA and 26 strikeouts... Tim Swatek has 22 strikeouts, three saves, and a 2.28 ERA in 23.2 innings of work to open the year... Jonathan Reich has still yet to allow an earned run in 18.1 innings of relief... Brian Thompson is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in his last three appearances with 10 strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched.

BREAKING THE "WINS" BARRIER: With the Rams' road win against New York Tech on April 6th, Fordham has won nine road contests this season, which matched their road win total for the entire 2010 season.

Meanwhile, the Rams posted their 23rd win of the season on April 19th, already surpassing each of the last two year's totals. The Rams are also ten games over the .500 mark for the first time since May 2007.

UPCOMING GAMES: Following this weekend's series, the Rams return home for a 4:00 PM against Columbia on April 27th. Fordham then returns to the road for a three-game set at Saint Louis (Apr. 29-May 1) and a mid-week game at Manhattan on May 3rd.