March 28, 2013

Bronx, N.Y. - In a quick turnaround from yesterday's win over Iona, the Fordham softball team will play its first home games of the season on Thursday, when Fordham hosts the La Salle Explorers for an Atlantic 10 doubleheader, starting at 1:00 PM at Bahoshy Field.

LIVE COVERAGE:
Game 1 - Game Tracker | Watch | Twitter Feed - @FordhamRams
Game 2 - Game Tracker | Watch | Twitter Feed - @FordhamRams

SCOUTING LA SALLE: The Explorers are 10-9 on the year, 1-3 in the Atlantic 10, after dropping two games to Saint Joseph's and splitting two with Temple.

The Explorers are hitting .262 as a group with a 4.03 team ERA. Opponents are hitting .269 against La Salle with a 3.13 ERA.

La Salle boasts five players with a .300 batting average or better, led by Casey Lester, who is hitting .396 with nine runs scored, five stolen bases, and four RBI. Tristan Musho is batting .340 with seven RBI and seven runs scored with Kendra Heyer at .327 on the year with 10 RBI. Megan Hodgson brings the power in the line-up leading the team with three home runs and 14 RBI.

In the circle, the pitching load has been carried by Alicia Aughton and Mary Cate Scott. Aughton is 7-5 in 12 appearances with a 2.40 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched. Scott is 3-3 on the year in 11 appearances with a 4.11 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 49.1 innings.

LAST TIME OUT: Behind Jamie LaBovick's 13th multi-hit game of the season and a complete game pitching performance by Michele Daubman, the Fordham softball team got back in the win column on Wednesday with a 3-2 victory over the Iona Gaels at Rice Oval Field in New Rochelle.

Fordham got on the board immediately in the first, scoring twice. Jamie LaBovick led off the game with a double to left, extending her hit streak to 14 games, and moved to third on an overthrow. Elise Fortier then drew a walk to put runners at first and third. Fortier followed by stealing second with LaBovick scoring on an overthrow by the catcher. After an error and a passed ball, Michele Daubman plated Fortier with a sacrifice fly to left.

After Iona got a run back in the bottom of the second on an RBI-single by Sydney Dimon, Fordham rallied right back to regain a two-run lead in the third. Fortier lined a one-out triple to right and scored on a ground out by Gabby Luety.

The score remained at 3-1 until the bottom of the seventh, when Iona closed to within one on a one-out RBI-fielder's choice by Jodi Petersen, scoring Dimon from third. Daubman though got Brianna Schauer to ground out to second to secure the win for the Rams.

Daubman improved to 8-4 on the year, tossing her fifth complete game of the year. She allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts. At the plate, LaBovick was 3-for-4 with two singles and a double, while Fortier was 1-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. For LaBovick, the double to lead off the game was the 39th of her career, tying her for third all-time at Fordham with Kathy Andrade, and is now just third Ram to have 200 hits and 300 total bases, joining Allison Twarowski and Jocelyn Dearborn.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Senior Jamie LaBovick is currently on a 14-game hitting streak heading into today's doubleheader. She is batting .537 (29-54) over the streak with 20 runs scored, six doubles, and 10 RBI... Juniors Gabby Luety and Elise Fortier are both batting .421 (16-38) over their last 13 games. Luety has seven home runs and 25 RBI over those 13 games, while Fortier has six home runs, 22 runs scored, and 14 RBI in that string... Sophomore Kayla Lombardo has 18 RBI in her last 12 games, while batting.343 (12-35)... Michele Daubman is 7-1 in her last nine appearances in the circle, while hitting .351 over her last 13 games.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Rams will next be in action on Saturday, March 30th, when Fordham hosts a noon doubleheader against George Washington.