May 11, 2012

Chestnut Hill, Mass. - The Fordham Rams enter the final two weekends of the season right in the thick of the Atlantic 10 playoff race, but will have their conference bye week this weekend. The team steps out of conference to play the Boston College Eagles in a two-game series, renewing a longstanding series with its fellow Jesuit institution.

The series between Fordham and Boston College dates as far back as 1902. Based on available materials since that time, Fordham holds a 22-17 edge in the series, between the two northeast schools.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Saturday - Fordham - RHP Daniel Munday (5-3) vs. BC - RHP Hunter Gordon (2-6) | | WFUV Audio
Sunday - Fordham - RHP John Porter (2-6) vs. BC - TBA |

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles are 20-29 this season with a 9-18 mark in the ACC.

The team is batting .275 this season, while posting a 5.34 ERA. Leading the way offensively is Tom Bourdon, who is the top Eagle batter with a .326 average, 18 doubles, nine home runs, and 31 RBI. Anthony Melchionda is also over the .300 mark at .317 with 35 runs scored, 16 doubles, five home runs, and 29 RBI.

On the hill, RHP Hunter Gordon will get the start on Saturday, while Sunday's starter has yet to be announced. Gordon is 2-6 this season with a 5.68 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 12 appearances.

In the bullpen, Boston College has a pair of pitchers that can close out the end of a game in Matt Brazis and John Gorman. Brazis has a team-high five saves in 12 appearances, while Gorman has racked up four in 19 appearances.

WE'RE GOING STREAKIN': Tim Swatek takes a 10-game hit streak into this weekend, two games shy of his career-long. Over the streak, he is batting .341 (14-41) with five runs scored, five doubles, and four RBI... Stephen McSherry is hitting .375 (12-32) over his last 10 games, scoring three runs and driving in two... Ryan Maghini is hitting .342 (13-38) over his last 10 games, posting two doubles, five RBI, and three stolen bases... Starting pitcher Daniel Munday has been superb in his last three starts, going 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA, two complete games, a .185 opponent batting average, and 14 strikeouts in 25.0 innings pitched... In the La Salle series, 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.

Ryan Phelan NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (5/7): Fordham University sophomore catcher Ryan Phelan (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro North) was named Atlantic 10 Baseball Player of the Week, today by the conference office. It is Phelan's first career weekly honor, and the second time this season that Fordham has had the player of the week in the conference, joining Mike Mauri.

Phelan had his best weekend as a Ram, hitting .500 (5-10) during Fordham's series win over first-place Rhode Island, collecting five RBI and three extra-base hits. He had a career day in the series finale on May 6th, finishing a single short of the cycle. He was 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, his first career home run, two runs scored, and tied a career-best with four RBI. Phelan is the only Ram to register a four-RBI game this season, having done so twice.

For the season, Phelan has set personal-bests with 34 games played, three doubles, and 12 RBI.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Rams end the regular season with a three-game series at Richmond from May 17-19. The Atlantic 10 Championship will be held at Fordham's Houlihan Park, May 23rd-26th.