March 9, 2012

Fordham-FIU Game Notes

Miami, Fla. - The Fordham baseball team makes its way south to Florida for the next four games, beginning on March 9th-11th with a three-game series against the FIU Panthers at FIU Baseball Stadium in Miami.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday -Fordham - RHP John Porter (0-1) vs. FIU - LHP Mason McVay (0-1) | Live Stats
Saturday - Fordham - RHP Chris Pike (1-0) vs. FIU - RHP Mike Ellis (1-1) | Live Stats
Sunday - Fordham - RHP Joseph Charest (0-3) vs. LHP R.J. Fondon (2-1) | Live Stats

SCOUTING FIU: The Panthers are only 5-5 this season, but have a perfect 4-0 mark at home. The Panthers are hitting .290 as a club, while holding opponents to a 3.68 ERA.

Mike Martinez leads all Panthers with a .435 batting average with six RBI, while Adam Kirsch is batting .333 with two doubles, two home runs, and 12 RBI.

On the hill, FIU will throw a pair of lefty starters at the Rams. In game one, LHP Mason McVay gets the call. He is 0-1 with a 3.21 ERA in three starts, posting 15 strikeouts in 14 innings. Saturday will see RHP Michael Ellis on the bump. He is 1-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 13 strikeouts in three appearances. The Sunday game belongs to LHP R.J. Fondon. He is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKING: Junior Ryan Lee had a career-high 12-game hit streak snapped last Friday... Ryan Maghini had a strong six-game homestand, hitting .350 (7-20) with two doubles, a home run and four RBI... Stephen McSherry also had a nice homestand, hitting .300 (6-20) with four runs scored... Mike Mauri has seven RBI over the first 12 games of the season. Prior to this year, he had three career RBI... Senior Daniel Munday has a solid opening to 2012, posting a 2.41 ERA in 18.2 innings of work, which includes throwing a career-long 8.2 innings against Fairfield with a career-high eight strikeouts... Rich Anastasi has two wins and a save in three of his last five appearances out of the bullpen.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Rams continues its Southern trip with a road game at Florida Atlantic on March 13. Fordham then returns to local action March 16-18, when the team plays at the Seton Hall StrikeOut Cancer Tournament. The Rams come back home on March 20th to start a five-game homestand against Stony Brook.