Baseball Opens Atlantic 10 Championship on Wednesday

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The Fordham Rams are in the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time in four years, as the team enters as the seventh seed, following a 13-14 season in the Atlantic 10.  Overall, this is Fordham's eighth trip to the Atlantic 10 Championship, haivng won the title in 1998.  The Rams will take on the #2 seed Saint Joseph's Hawks in the opening contest at 2:30 PM Eastern (1:30 Central).  If the Rams win, they move on to play the winner of Dayton and George Mason on Thursday at 2:30 PM Eastern.  If Fordham loses, they face the loser of Dayton-George Mason at 9:30 PM Eastern on Wednesday.

SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S: The Hawks have concluded one of best regular seasons in recent memory, posting a 33-14 record with an 18-8 mark in the Atlantic 10.

They are led by one of the more potent offensive in the league, and a dynamic tandem at the top of their rotation.  The Hawks posted a .296 team batting average this season and averaged 6.9 runs per contest.  This averages were helped out earlier in the year against Fordham, when the Hawks swept a three-game series from the Rams by scores of 13-1, 17-1, and 4-3.

Individually, A-10 Player of the Year Collin Forgey and  First Team All-Atlantic 10 performer Brian O'Keefe have had stellar campaigns for Saint Joseph's.  Forgey leads the Hawks with a .368 batting avergae to go with 46 runs scored, 12 doubles, and 41 RBI, while O'Keefe is hitting .343 with 53 runs scored, 10 doubles, seven home runs, and 41 RBI.
  
On the mound, the tandem of Daniel Thorpe and A-10 Pitcher of the Year Jordan Carter have been stellar.  Thorpe is 9-1 this season with a 2.94 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 85.2 innnings, while Carter led the conference with 10 wins to go along with a 2.19 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 90.1 innings.  In the bullpen, Steven Schuler has been to go closer, posting a 5-1 record with six saves and a 0.57 ERA.

WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Tim Swatek is hitting .405 (17-42) over his last 12 games, notching nine runs, six doubles, nine RBI, and eight stolen bases... Rob McCunney is batting .359 over his last 12 contests (14-39), totaling eight runs and four stolen bases to go with a .479 on-base percentage... Joey Runco has 11 runs scored and seven stolen bases over his last 12 games to go with a .346 batting average (18-52)... Charles Galiano has 13 RBI over the last 12 games, including a six-RBI game in game two of the VCU series... On the hill, Brett Kennedy is 3-1 in his last four starts with a 2.45 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched... Cody Johnson has been unhittable in his last six relief appearances, posting a 0.87 ERA and .139 opponent batting average in 10. 1 innings... J.C. Porter is 2-1 with a save in his last seven relief appearances, posting a 2.20 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched.

COMING INTO FORM: The Fordham offense turned a corner once conference play started in late March.  In non-league games, Fordham batted just .238 and averaged 4.3 runs per game.  In Atlantic 10 action, the Rams hit 38 points higher at .276 and averaged over a run more per game at 5.4.

WHAT ABOUT US?: The pitching staff has also stepped up their game from non-league action to Atlantic 10 play.  In non-conference games, Fordham had a 5.06 ERA with 91 walks to 150 strikeouts.

In league action, the Rams have dropped their ERA to 4.46 , and while they've walked the same amount, 91 batters, the pitching staff has also struck out more hitters at 198.

LOOK OUT, HE'S GOING, HE'S GOING: For only the third time since 2000, the Fordham Rams have stolen 100 bases in a season.

The Rams reached that milestone in the final series of the season, joining the 2001 team (109) and the 2008 team (157 - school record) as the most recent entries into the century club.

Fordham currently has five players with double-digit stolen bases, entering the conference tournament, led by Joey Runco and Tim Swatek.  Runco leads the conference with 23 stolen bases this season, quickly followed by Swatek in second place with 22.  Rob McCunney is tied for tenth in the league with 13 swipes, with Jason Lundy (12) and Matthew Cianci (10) rounding out the group.

SULTAN OF SWAT: Senior Tim Swatek has had an outstanding senior campaign at the plate and on the mound for Fordham.

He finished the regular season, leading the Rams and the Atlantic 10 in batting average (.383), on-base percetnage (.481), and walks (30), while being second in stolen bases with 22.  He also finished the year as Fordham's leader in hits (67), triples (3), and RBI (33).  Swatek's .383 batting average is the highest to finish a regular season at Fordham since Tim Boyle's .389 average in 2002.  In league play, Swatek posted a league-high .406 batting average to go with 19 runs scored, 16 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.

On the hill, Swatek was 4-3 in 11 starts with a 4.33 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched.

IRON MAN: It's rare to see a player not miss a game all season, but Fordham sophomore Joey Runco has done that is both of his seasons at Fordham.

Since starting the first game of the 2013 season, Runco has started all 106 games that Fordham has played.  A 2013 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection, Runco hasn't disappointed, posting a career .298 batting average with 66 runs scored, 119 hits, 13 doubles, 45 RBI, and 42 stolen bases.