Box Score May 18, 2012
Box Score
Richmond, Va. -
Much like Thursday, the Fordham Rams were unable to stay away from the big inning by the Richmond Spiders on Friday, as Richmond had a seven-run first inning, which set the tone for an 8-5 victory at Pitt Field in Richmond, Virginia.
The loss drops Fordham to 22-33 on the year, 12-11 in the Atlantic 10, while Richmond improved to 26-24 overall, 13-10 in the league.
Fordham opened the scoring in the first inning, as the Rams loaded the bases with two outs. Mike Mauri doubled with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch. Stephen McSherry and Ryan Lee then drew consecutive walks, while another wild pitch allowed Mauri to score from third.
Richmond responded with seven runs in the bottom half of the first inning, which began with runners at first and third with one out. Chris Cowell lifted a sacrifice fly to score Matt Zink from third to tie the game at one. Jacob Mayers and Bryan Conway then connected for back-to-back singles, which enabled Phil Ruzbarsky to score to make it, 2-1. A two-run triple by Adam Forrer, an RBI-single by Mike Small, and a two-run single by Adam McConnell finished the inning at 7-1.
The Rams cut into the lead in the top of the sixth, when Ryan Maghini led off with a double, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a dropped third strike to make it a 7-2 score.
Richmond got that run back in the bottom half of the inning, as Ruzbarsky was hit by a pitch with one out, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a single from Mayers for an 8-2 lead.
Fordham got a rally going in the eighth, as the team tried to fight back into the game. Tim Swatek opened with a single, followed by a Mauri single to put runners at first and second. After a wild pitch and a strikeout, McSherry drew a walk to load the bases. Lee then drew a walk to force in Swatek from third. After another strikeout, Matthew Cianci drove in two runs with a base hit, cutting the Richmond lead to 8-5.
The Rams however would go in order in the ninth, as Andrew Brockett closed out the game with 1.2 innings of one-hit relief. Zak Sterling (6-1) earned the win, allowing two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Fordham starter Daniel Munday (5-4) did not last long in the game, as he gave up seven runs on eight hits and four walks in 1.2 innings. The bullpen pitched well, as Rich Anastasi threw a career-long 5.1 innings of relief, allowing one unearned run on five hits with five strikeouts, while Jeremy Adel tossed a scoreless inning of relief.
At the plate, Maghini was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while Mauri was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Cianci was also 1-for-3 with two RBI.
The same two teams will close out the series with a noon game on Saturday.
