May 10, 2012

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St. Louis, Mo. - When the Fordham softball team arrived in St. Louis, it knew that its first opponent in the Atlantic 10 championship would be a team from Philadelphia, and after completion of play on day one, the Rams will begin their Atlantic 10 title defense against Saint Joseph's, who defeated Temple in the second game of the tournament.

The game, which is being played at the Billiken Softball Complex on the campus of Saint Louis University, features a rematch between the 2011 finalists and will likely pit the same starting pitchers against each other in Fordham's Jen Mineau and the Hawks Erin Gallagher.

Fordham enters the game off the heels of an upset of #3 Alabama on Monday night. Offensively the Rams are led by a pair of All A-10 First Team selections in Lindsey Kay Bright and Paige Ortiz. Bright leads the Rams in batting, sacrifice hits, stolen bases and on base percentage, while Ortiz provides the power numbers as she paces the team in home runs, RBI, slugging and total bases.

Fordham also had Elise Fortier, Jamie LaBovick and Mineau named All A-10 First Team, while Brianna Turgeon joined Ortiz on the All Rookie team.

In the circle, Mineau is the staff leader in wins, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts and shutouts. Freshman Taylor Pirone came out of the bullpen to earn the victory over the Crimson Tide on Monday night.

Saint Joseph's earned the right to face Fordham after disposing of Temple, 6-0. Gallagher threw a complete game, three-hit shutout in the win. Three different Hawks had two hits in the victory.

At the plate, Saint Joseph's relies on a trio of players led by Bernadette Moran, Dana Parks and Lauren Rendon. Moran leads the team in batting, while Parks paces the side in hits and Rendon is first in home runs and RBI.

In the circle, Taryn Ashway split time with Gallagher. Gallagher has 11 wins and a 1.87 ERA with Ashway picking up ten victories and posting a 2.61 ERA.

Fordham and Saint Joseph's met twice during the regular season and the Rams triumphed in both games. On Holy Thursday, Mineau threw a one-hitter as Fordham prevailed, 1-0. The next day, the Rams won in extra innings, 4-1.

Depending on the outcome with the Hawks, Fordham will play on Friday, May 11 at either 2:00 or 4:30 PM eastern.