April 29, 2011

Fordham Baseball Game Notes | SLU Audio (Click Listen Live at the Bottom)

St. Louis, Mo. - The Fordham baseball team hits the road for conference play for the second straight weekend, as the Rams meet the Saint Louis Billikens for a three-game series, starting on Friday.

The series matches up two of the top three pitching staffs in the league for the second straight weekend, as the Billikens and Rams rank 2nd and 3rd in the Atlantic 10 in ERA.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday - Fordham - RHP Brian Pendergast (2-5) vs. SLU - RHP - Alex Alemann (3-4) |
Saturday - Fordham - RHP Chris Pike (4-1) vs. SLU - RHP Zack Smith (5-3) |
Sunday - Fordham - RHP Max Krakowiak (4-5) vs. SLU - LHP Damien Rivera (1-1) |

SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS: The Billikens are 22-18 on the season with a 4-8 mark in the conference. They are batting .286 as a team with a 3.68 ERA.

Saint Louis is led by Jon Myers, who leads the Billikens with a .333 batting average, 30 runs scored, 10 doubles, five home runs, and 27 RBI. Myers is one of three batters over the .300 mark this season, joining Marco DiRoma (.306) and C.J. Rose (.300).

On the hill, Fordham will see the trio of RHP Alex Alemann, RHP Zack Smith, and LHP Damien Rivera. Alemann is 3-4 with a team-best 2.81 ERA in 10 starts, while Saturday will see Smith, who is 5-3 with a 3.42 ERA and 25 strikeouts. Rivera rounds out the rotation as the lone lefty starter, going 1-1 in eight appearances with a 4.50 ERA.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Ryan David is currently on a 12-game hitting streak, batting .340 (16-47) with eight RBI in that stretch... Chris Walker is hitting .370 with eight runs scored and 10 RBI in his last 12 games... Nick Martinez has a nine-game hit streak going, where he's hitting .429 (15-35) with 12 runs scored in the stretch with multi-hit games in his last five of his last six outings... On the hill, Chris Pike has three saves and a 4-1 record in 12 appearances to go with a 2.55 ERA, 55 strikeouts, and .235 opponent batting average... Rich Anastasi is 5-0 in 17 appearances, posting a 1.42 ERA and 30 strikeouts... Tim Swatek has 22 strikeouts, four saves, and a 2.45 ERA in 25.2 innings of work to open the year... Jonathan Reich has still yet to allow an earned run in 22.2 innings of relief, while posting a 3-0 record... Joseph Charest is 1-0 with a save and a 1.38 ERA in 10 appearances and 13.0 innings pitched.

FORDHAM AMONG THE "TEAMS OF THE WEEK" FOR COLLEGEBASEBALLINSIDER.COM (4/19): CollegeBaseballInsider.com released its "Team of the Week" awards for April 19th with Fordham listed as an Honorable Mention selection. The Rams were 4-0 on the week with a three-game sweep of George Washington and a mid-week win over LIU.

SHUTTING THE DOOR: One of the biggest reason for the Rams success this season has been the development of the Fordham bullpen into one of the best in the Atlantic 10.

In 2010, the Rams' bullpen sat with a 7-11 record and six saves at this point in the season with a 5.83 ERA and a .295 opponent batting average.

This season has been a much different story with the bullpen having a 15-2 record and 11 saves with a 2.77 ERA and opponent batting average of .237, a difference of over three runs less per game and 58 points less in batting average.

In addition, the Rams had just one relief pitcher, Jordan Grangard, end the season with an ERA of 2.45 of less with at least five relief appearances. This season, Fordham has an amazing seven pitchers, Jonathan Reich, Joseph Charest, Nick Martinez, Chris Pike, Dan Sorine, Rich Anastasi, and Tim Swatek, that fit those standards.

UPCOMING GAMES: Following this weekend, the Rams have a mid-week game at Manhattan on May 3rd, before returning home on Friday, May 6th to begin a three-game series against the Saint Joseph's Hawks at Houlihan Park. Fordham then gets back to the road after exams with a three-game set at Massachusetts from May 13-15.