April 17, 2012

Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham Rams look to build on a come-from-behind win at Dayton on Sunday, as the team takes on the Iona Gaels in the first night game of the season at Houlihan Park.

Both squads are coming off 1-2 weekends, as Fordham lost two of three to Dayton, while Iona fell to Niagara twice.

The two local rivals will have game #77 in the series with Fordham holding a 50-25-1 lead.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Fordham - RHP John Porter (2-3) vs. RHP Steve Basile (2-1) | | Live Video | WFUV Audio

SCOUTING IONA: The Gaels are 13-22 on the season with a 5-7 mark in the MAAC.

The team is batting .280 this season with a 6.29 team ERA. The team is led by Colin Lyall, who is batting a team-best .371 with four home runs and 13 RBI. Chris Burke is batting .360 with 11 doubles, eight home runs, and 36 RBI, while teammate James Beck also has 36 RBI to go with a .297 batting average and six home runs.

On the hill, RHP Steve Basile is the probable starter for the Gaels. He is 2-1 this season in eight appearances with a 9.31 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched. Tom Kriss has served as a primary closer, netting three saves in 14 appearances to with a 2.70 ERA.

WE'RE GOING STREAKIN': Mike Mauri is batting .394 (13-33) over his last nine games, scoring eight runs with eight RBI and three stolen bases... Ryan Lee is batting .342 over his last nine games with five runs scored and six RBI... Matthew Cianci is batting .321 in his last nine games, posting eight runs scored... Stephen McSherry has tied his career-long hit streak at seven games, entering tonight's game, he is hitting .375 over that stretch with two doubles, a home run and six RBI... Jeremy Adel has two wins, three saves, and a 1.29 ERA in his last 10 appearances.

THE "A" TEAM: When the game has been on the line, Fordham has gone to the "A-Team" duo of Jeremy Adel and Rich Anastasi to shut the door in the closing innings.

In games won by the Rams, Adel is 3-0 with five saves, a 0.68 ERA, and a .200 opponent batting average, while Anastasi is 2-0 with two saves, a 0.90 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and .243 opponent batting average.

CLOSING IN: Two of the Fordham seniors are slowly closing in on some career milestones over the coming weeks.

Senior Brian Kownacki is creeping up on 200 games played and 200 career hits. He currently stands at 192 games played, which is tied for 7th all-time at Fordham, while collecting 197 hits, which is tied for 13th all-time. He is also among the career leaders in triples with 10, which is tied for eighth on the career list.

Senior Ryan Maghini had a milestone of his own during the Temple series, as he surpassed 100 consecutive starts. He has 106 entering this week. His last non-start was the back end of a doubleheader against Columbia on April 28, 2010. Maghini also reached 150 career hits in the Rams' 9-8 win over Dayton on April 15th.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Rams have a quick turnaround for their next game, as they'll head to Hempstead for a game with the Hofstra Pride at 3:30 PM on Wednesday. Fordham then hosts La Salle for a three-game series from April 20-22 at Houlihan Park. Throughout the weekend, Fordham will be raising funds for the Wounded Warrior Project.