Baseball Sweeps VCU

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Bronx, N.Y. (May 15, 2014) – Hosting VCU, one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10, the Fordham University baseball squad needed to play some of its best baseball on Thursday to stay in contention for an Atlantic 10 championship berth, a feat that was made even more difficult by the fact that, with poor weather in the forecast for Friday, the two teams squared off for a doubleheader. But Fordham put on a solid display of pitching and hitting to sweep the doubleheader as the arms of Joseph Serrapica and J.C. Porter led Fordham to a 6-3 win in game one, while the bats of Charles Galiano and Tim Swatek gave the team a 12-6 victory in game two.
 
With the doubleheader sweep, Fordham improved to 23-27 on the year, 13-13 in the Atlantic 10, while VCU fell to 33-18 on the year, 14-10 in the league.  The two wins coupled with Richmond's loss moved the Rams into sixth place in the Atlantic 10 standings, as the top seven teams in the league qualify for the Atlantic 10 Championship.
 
In game one, VCU opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the third inning, highlighted by an RBI-single from Cody Acker.
 
Fordham knotted the game at two in the bottom of the fourth, as Joseph Runco reached on an error to start the inning and stole second.  Tim Swatek then doubled to left center, scoring Runco from second. After a ground out moved Swatek to third, Mark Donadio drew a walk with Rob McCunney getting hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Matthew Kozuch followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Swatek from third.
 
VCU regained the lead in the fifth at 3-2, as James Dunn tripled with one out and scored on a ground out by Joey Cujas.
 
Fordham bounced right back with a run in the bottom of the frame, as the Rams loaded the bases for the second straight inning.  Matthew Cianci was hit by a pitch with one out and moved to second on a single by Runco.  Swatek then walked to load the bases with Cianci eventually scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Fordham grabbed its first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth, scoring twice in the inning. McCunney reached base on an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice, and took third on a wild pitch.  Jordan Gajdos then connected on an RBI-double to score McCunney.  After an infield single by Ian Edmiston put runners at the corners, Cianci put down the safety squeeze bunt to score Gajdos.
 
The Maroon and White added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh, when Charles Galiano singled home Swatek from second after Swatek's second double of the game for an insurance run.
 
From there, the story of the game was the performance of senior J.C. Porter out of the Rams' bullpen in relief of starter Joseph Serrapica.  Porter (4-5) threw five innings of five-hit relief, allowing just one run over that time to earn his fourth win of the year.  Serrapica also pitched well, allowing two unearned runs over four innings with three strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Runco was 3-for-5, while Swatek was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI.  McCunney also had a pair of hits and a run scored.
 
In game two, Fordham opened the scoring in the first.  Cianci singled up the middle to leadoff the game, and scored after a ground out and two wild pitches.
 
VCU responded with four runs in the third to take a 4-1 lead.  After loading the bases with no outs, James Bunn was hit by a pitch to force in a run, while Vimael Machin walked to force in a second run.  Bill Cullen then connected on a two-run single to center for a three-run lead.
 
Fordham tallied one run in the bottom of the frame, cutting the lead to 4-2.  Swatek singled to start the inning, stole second and third, and then scored on an infield single by Galiano.
 
VCU answered back with the long ball in the fourth, as Logan Farrar hit a solo home run to left for a 5-2 lead.
 
The Maroon & White rallied right back with a big five-run fourth inning to take a 7-5 lead.  Ian Edmiston started things with a one-out double, followed by Cianci getting hit by a pitch.  After Runco singled to load the bases, Swatek lined a single through the right side to plate Edmiston from third.  Galiano then registered a grand slam home run to left for his fourth of the season to give Fordham a two-run edge.
 
Fordham added to its lead in the fifth, when Cianci was hit by a pitch and stole second with two outs.  Runco then laced a single to right, scoring Cianci for an 8-5 lead.
 
The score remained that way until the seventh, where VCU closed the gap to 8-6 on an RBI-single by Machin.
 
Fordham replied with another big inning in the bottom of the eighth to take a 12-6 lead.  Runco started the inning with a triple to right and scored on a Galiano RBI-single, giving the sophomore catcher a career-high six RBI.  Donadio followed with a single with McCunney being hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Kozuch then drove in two runs with a single through the left side.  Fordham would re-load the bases later in the inning and pick up another on a walk to Cianci, giving Fordham a 12-6 lead.
 
Fordham's Cody Johnson would shut the door on VCU over the final two innings, pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts for the save.  Starter Brett Kennedy (6-7) got the win, as he threw seven innings, allowing two earned runs with four strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Fordham racked up 19 hits in the game, one shy of the team's season-high, led by Galiano, who was 4-for-5 with a home run and a career-high six RBI, while Swatek was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and three stolen bases.  Runco registered his second three-hit game of the day with Donadio, McCunney, and Edmiston each having a pair of hits.
 
The same two teams have one more contest to play, which will be on Saturday at 7:00 PM.