April 25, 2012

New York, N.Y. - Fresh off a series win against La Salle, the Fordham Rams look to continue that momentum on Wednesday, as the team travels to Columbia to renew one of the oldest baseball rivalries in college baseball.

The Rams and Lions have played against each other since the late 1880s, and since 1902, Fordham holds the overall edge on the Lions at 68-49-2. Columbia had gotten the better Fordham, winning five of the last six contests, until last season, when Fordham swept both ends of a doubleheader at Houlihan Park.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Game 1 - Fordham - RHP John Porter (2-4) vs. Columbia - TBA | Live Stats
Game 2 - Fordham - RHP Jordan Grangard (0-2) vs. Columbia - TBA | Live Stats

SCOUTING COLUMBIA: The Lions are 17-22 this season with a 9-7 mark in the Ivy League.

The team is batting .268 with a 4.54 team ERA. At the plate, Alex Black is leading the squad with a .354 batting average to go with ten doubles and 12 RBI, while Dario Pizzano is hitting .338 wth 14 doubles, three home runs, and 28 RBI. Jon Eisen is also having a productive season, hitting .320 with 31 runs scored and nine stolen bases, as is Nick Ferraresi, who is batting .310 with 15 doubles and 23 RBI.

Similar to Fordham, Columbia has a dynamic duo as the back end of its bullpen in David Spinosa and Harrison Slutsky. Spinosa has four saves in 16 appearances and is holding opponents to a .204 batting average, while Slutsky in 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA and two saves in 13 appearances.

WE'RE GOING STREAKIN': Mike Mauri is currently on a career-high eight-game hit streak. He is batting .552 (16-29) over that stretch with six runs scored, six RBI, and three stolen bases... Ryan Maghini has also been hot, batting .400 (16-40) over his last 10 contests with eight runs scored, two home runs, and four RBI... Tim Swatek is batting .324 over his last eight games (11-34), scoring four runs to go with three doubles and three RBI...Stephen McSherry had a career-high nine-game hitting streak end on Friday. He is hitting .364 (12-33) over his last 10 games with seven RBI... Rich Anastasi has not allowed an earned run in his last five appearances (11 IP)... Joseph Charest and Daniel Munday became the first Fordham pitchers to throw back-to-back complete game wins, since Chris Pike and Max Krakowiak did so against La Salle on March 26th & 27th of last season.

MAURI & MUNDAY EARN A-10 ACCOLADES (4/23): Fordham University junior infielder Mike Mauri (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and senior pitcher Daniel Munday (Rockaway Park, N.Y./Xavier) were named Atlantic 10 Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the conference office. It is Mauri's first career weekly honor, while being the third for Munday, as he was twice named Rookie of the Week as a freshman.

Mauri had an excellent week for the Rams, batting .588 (10-17), and helping Fordham post a series win over La Salle. He finished with multi-hit games in four of five outings, while adding a pair of stolen bases. He posted a perfect fielding percentage as well, as he shifted to first base full-time this week in 50 total chances.

Mauri extended his career-high hit streak to eight games and tied a career-high with a three-hit game in the series opener against La Salle. He currently leads the Rams in average (.336), hits (51), RBI (26), stolen bases (8), and multi-hit games (14).

Munday pitched his first career complete game shutout on April 20th against La Salle, while setting a new career-high with nine strikeouts. He allowed only one base runner to reach third base in the game, as he scattered five hits and two walks in his nine innings of work.

For the season, Munday is 3-3 with a 4.18 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 12 appearances and 56.0 innings pitched. He currently has career-best marks in ERA, wins, games started, and innings pitched this season.

MILESTONES: Two of Fordham's senior class have eclipsed some major milestones over the past two weeks.

Senior Brian Kownacki became the 12th Ram to reach 200 career hits on April 20th, with a double against La Salle. He currently has 202 hits, and also stands at 197 games played, which is 6th all-time at Fordham. He is also among the career leaders in triples with 11, which is tied for sixth on the career list with Babe Young (1934-36) and Rich Goulian (2005-08).

Senior Ryan Maghini had a milestone of his own during the Temple series, as he surpassed 100 consecutive starts. He has 109 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 make their way to Xavier for a three-game Atlantic 10 series, April 27th-29th, for the team's next set of games. The Rams return home on May 1st for a night game against Manhattan, beginning the team's final home stretch. Fordham will follow with three home games against Rhode Island, May 4-6.