Baseball Opens Home Slate with Doubleheader Sweep

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
 
On what turned out to be a picture perfect day in the Bronx with temperatures in the mid-50s, the Fordham baseball team greeted its fans with two victories over the NYIT Bears in the team's home opening games at Houlihan Park.
 
The doubleheader sweep puts Fordham's record at 5-6 overall, while NYIT fell to 0-6.
 
In game one, Fordham's Ryan McNally beat out an infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning and forced a bad throw, which allowed Rob McCunney to score to give the Rams a 7-6 win in seven innings.
 
The Rams fought adversity right away in the first inning, as starter Jimmy Murphy had to leave the game after just three batters with an injury, bringing in freshman Shane McDonald from the bullpen.
 
The Fordham offense gave McDonald some early support, scoring three times in the second inning on RBI-singles by Jason Lundy and Joseph Runco, as well as on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Phelan.
 
The Bears rallied for three runs in the top of the third to tie the game, but Fordham regained the lead at 5-3 in the bottom half of the inning.  Tim Swatek was hit by a pitch to start the inning and stole second.  Ryan McNally then drove a double to center, scoring Swatek from second.  Two batters later, Brendan Maghini singled up the middle to score McNally for the two-run lead.
 
After Fordham made it a 6-3 lead in the fourth inning, NYIT got a run back in the top of the sixth to make it a two-run ballgame, heading to the seventh.  In the seventh, the Bears would take advantage of three walks and three singles which led to two runs and having the bases loaded against Fordham reliever J.C. Porter.  Porter though got out of the jam with a lineout to center, keeping the game tied at six.
 
Then in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, pinch-hitter Rob McCunney was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a passed ball.  McNally then beat out a single to the right side, where the throw from second base got past the first baseman, allowing McCunney to score on the play.
 
Porter (1-1) got the win in relief for Fordham, while McDonald tossed 5.1 innings, allowing three earned on six hits with five strikeouts.  At the plate, Runco was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while McNally was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
 
In game two, the Rams belted out 12 hits and scored 11 runs to record an 11-8 win and complete the doubleheader sweep.
 
NYIT got out to a 5-0 edge before Fordham rallied for five runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game.  The rally began with Charles Galiano and McNally getting hit by a pitch.  One out later, Matthew Kozuch singled through the left side to load the bases.  Lundy and Joe DeVito followed with back-to-back two-run singles to close the gap to 5-4.  After consecutive wild pitches, Matthew Cianci plated DeVito with a sacrifice fly to center.
 
The Rams then grabbed the lead with two runs in the third on an RBI-single from Lundy and an error.
 
NYIT responded with a three-run outburst in the fifth, taking advantage of two Fordham miscues in the frame to lead, 8-7.
 
Fordham though would rally again with two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to take an 11-8 lead.  Runco led the two rallies with an RBI in each frame, while Lundy picked up his fourth RBI of the game with a single in the sixth.
 
Cody Johnson would close out the win for Fordham, picking up his first save of the year, pitching two hitless innings with three strikeouts.  Luke Stampfl improved to 2-0 on the year, as he got the win in relief of Makay Redd.  Redd pitched four innings, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Lundy was 3-for-3 with four RBI, while Kozuch was 2-for-2 with two walks and four runs scored.  DeVito finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI with Cianci also adding two hits and two RBI.
 
The Fordham baseball team is next in action on Wednesday, March 12^th, when the team hosts Iona at 3:30 PM at Houlihan Park.