Box Score May 19, 2012
Box Score
Richmond, Va. -
For the second straight season, the Fordham baseball team went to the extreme in its regular season finale, matching the 14-inning marathon from the 2011 season finale. Unfortunately, the result remained the same, as Richmond's Adam McConnell registered the game-winning single in the bottom of the 14th inning, giving the Spiders a 3-2 win over the Rams at Pitt Field on Saturday.
The loss ends Fordham's season at 22-34 overall, 12-12 in the Atlantic 10, while Richmond moved to 27-24, 14-10 in the league. Richmond also locked up the #5 seed at the next week's Atlantic 10 Championship, while Fordham will miss the tournament for the second straight season.
Richmond opened the game with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. With runners at second and third and one out, Richmond got back-to-back RBI-singles from Chris Cowell and Jacob Mayers for a 2-0 lead.
Fordham cut deficit in half to 2-1 in the top of the fifth inning. Brian Kownacki led off with a double down the left field line, and moved to third on a bunt single by Matthew Cianci. Kownacki later scored on an infield single by Ryan Phelan.
The Rams then tied the game at two in the top of the eighth inning.
Tim Swatek opened with his third hit of the ball game, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout,
Ryan Lee singled up the middle to score Swatek.
The game then became a battle of attrition, as both pitching staffs and defenses, locked the score at two. Fordham turned four of its season-high five double plays after tying the game, while Richmond also registered two double plays, and threw out potential go ahead runs at third in the top of the 13th and at home in the top of the 14th inning.
The Rams' luck however ended in the bottom of the 14th, as the Spiders loaded the bases on a walk, an error, and an intentional walk, and scored on a game-winning single up the middle by Adam McConnell.
Fordham starting pitcher Joseph Charest was phenomenal, pitching a career-long 11 innings and throwing 146 pitches, giving up just two runs on 12 hits with five strikeouts. Jeremy Adel (3-4) took the loss in relief, giving up the winning run. He pitched two-plus innings with two strikeouts. Richmond's Andrew Brockett got the win, as he threw the final 5.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits with seven strikeouts.
At the plate, Swatek was 3-for-6 with a run scored, while Lee was also 3-for-6 with an RBI. Kownacki finished 2-for-5 with a run scored in his final game as a Ram, with Cianci also having a pair of hits.
