May 11, 2012
St. Louis, Mo. -
After defeating Saint Joseph's in its first game of the 2012 Atlantic 10 Championship on Thursday, the second seed and defending conference champions, Fordham University, will meet the top-seed, the University of Massachusetts, on Friday at 2:00 PM (EST) on day three of the tournament at the Billiken Sports Center.
Both Fordham and UMass won their first games at the championship yesterday, and for the Rams to advance to the championship game on Saturday, they will have to earn their first victory over the Minutewomen this season, after falling to them twice in the regular season. The first matchup between the two schools in 2012 was an epic game that became the longest played in school history when UMass defeated Fordham, 2-1, in 17 innings.
Fordham is led by several All-Conference players including first team members, Lindsey Kay Bright, Elise Fortier, and Jen Mineau. Bright leads the team in batting with a .360 average, while Fortier connected on her team-leading 14th double against Saint Joseph's on Thursday and Mineau threw her 31st complete game of the year to earn the win. Additionally, the Rams got home runs from All-Conference and All-Rookie Team honoree Paige Ortiz, her team-best 13th of the year, and another from Chelsea Palumbo.
The Rams opened defense of their A-10 crown with a 4-1 win over Saint Joseph's. Ortiz and Palumbo accounted for all the Fordham RBI in the game as each connected on a two-run home run.
UMass features the A-10 Pitcher and Player of the Year in Sarah Plourde and the Rookie of the Year in Quianna Diaz-Patterson. The Minutewomen opened the 2012 A-10 Championship with a 5-2 victory over George Washington on Thursday.
If the Rams are victorious, they will advance to the championship game on Saturday, May 12 at 2:00 PM. If Fordham loses, the Rams will play an elimination game on Friday, May 11 at 7:00 PM against the winner of the Saint Joseph's-George Washington game.
