Box Score May 14, 2011
Box Score
Amherst, Mass. - Fordham's Rob McCunney connected for his first career home run and drove in four runs, while Brian Kownacki tied a career-high with four hits, as the Fordham baseball team won the opening end of a doubleheader on Saturday, 12-6, over the Massachusetts Minutemen. The second game however was suspended in the seventh inning due to rain, tied at two, and will resume on Sunday at 11:00 AM.
With the win in game one, Fordham improves to 30-20 on the year, 11-9 in the Atlantic 10, while UMass fell to 16-27 overall, 7-13 on the year. It's Fordham's first 30-win season since 2007.
UMass grabbed the early edge in the first game of the doubleheader, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning. Anthony Serino led off with a single, and two outs later scored on an RBI-double to left by Peter Copa. Tom Conley then singled home Copa for a 2-0 lead.
Copa made it 3-0 in favor of the Minutemen in the bottom of the third, as he connected for his second RBI-double of the game scoring Eric Fredette, who singled and stole second.
The Rams cracked the board in the top of the fourth with four runs to take a 4-3 lead. With two outs, Joe Russo, Ryan Maghini, and Mike Mauri all reached on singles to load the bases. Rob McCunney then ripped a two-run single to score Russo and Maghini with Mauri taking second. Nick Martinez then single dto right to score Mauri and tie the game at three. Brian Kownacki then reached on an infield single, scoring McCunney from third for a 4-3 lead.
The Minutemen tied the game at four in the bottom of the fifth, as Kyle Adie doubled to right center, was sacrificed to third, and scored on a single by Fredette.
The Rams then went back to work in the seventh, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs to take a 12-4 lead. The Rams began the rally with three straight singles by Martinez, Kownacki, and Chris Walker to regain the lead at 5-4. Ryan David then ripped a two-run double, scoring Kownacki and Walker to make it a 7-4 game. Ryan Lee followed with another RBI-double to score David from second. After a walk to Russo and a stolen base by Lee, Maghini plated Russo with a ground out for a five-run lead.
The Rams continued to pour on the offense in the seventh, as McCunney blasted a two-run home run to left, the first of his career. Kownacki ended the inning with an RBI-double, scoring Martinez, who had single, on a perfect hit-and-run play for a 12-4 lead.
UMass did score once in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings to close within 12-6, but Fordham pitchers Chris Pike and Rich Anastasi would not allow the Minutemen any closer. Pike improved to 7-1 on the season, allowing five runs on 10 hits in seven innings of work and struck out six. Anastasi worked the final two innings, giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts.
At the plate, McCunney led the way, going 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, while Kownacki tied a career-high with four hits in five at bats to go with two RBI. Walker and Martinez also had three hits apiece with Walker also driving in two runs.
In game two, the game featured a pitcher's duel through the first five innings, as Fordham's Max Krakowiak and Massachusetts' Ben Hart matched zero for zero until the Minutemen broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Copa was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, was sacrificed to second, and moved to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Kyle Multner, Rob McLam pulled off a suicide squeeze bunt, scoring Copa from third.
Fordham immediately responded in the top of the seventh with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. Stephen McSherry and Maghini got the ball rolling with back-to-back singles. Martinez then hit a ground ball to second, which Fredette couldn't handle and threw away, allowing McSherry to score with Maghini moving to third. Kownacki then lined a shot off Massachusetts' reliever Leif Sorenson, which allowed Maghini to score on the ground out and a 2-1 lead.
Massachusetts came right back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, as Serino doubled to left with one out. Then with the rain coming down pretty hard, Fredette drew a walk with Matt Gedman being hit by a pitch to load the bases. Krakowiak's first pitch to Copa sailed high to the backstop, scoring Serino with a wild pitch. The umpires then decided to halt the game due to the rain, and suspend play until 11:00 AM on Sunday, when the game will resume from that point.
To this point, Krakowiak has been very strong, giving up just two runs on six hits over 6.1 innings of work. UMass' starter Ben Hart went the first six plus innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, and Sorenson has one scoreless inning thus far in relief.
