Game One Rally Leads Softball to DH Sweep at Furman

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Fordham softball team extended its win streak to five games Friday after completing a doubleheader sweep of Furman at Pepsi Stadium. With the victories (3-2 (8), 8-1), the Rams improve to 8-4 on the season, while the Paladins fall to 3-2 overall.

Game One
Trailing 1-0, Fordham was down to its last strike in the top of the seventh when senior Paige Ortiz found the gap in right-center field with a double to keep the visitors alive. After junior Cailin Winokur replaced Ortiz as a pinch runner, senior Cora Ianiro walked to put the go-ahead run on base.

Furman went to the bullpen and replaced its starter, Alex Sappington, with Lindsey Burt, who promptly threw a wild pitch with sophomore Sydney Canessa at the dish, moving the runners to second and third. Canessa then delivered with a clutch two-run single to plate Winokur and Ianiro and give Fordham its first lead of the game, 2-1. Canessa advanced to second on the play after a fielding error by the center fielder but was left stranded at third when the frame ended.

Redshirt junior Rachel Gillen looked to lock down her fourth win in the circle and started the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout. After allowing a walk, she recorded another strikeout to move Fordham one out away from the victory. However, Gillen would yield a single and a walk to load the bases, before plunking Elise Smith to send the tying run across the plate. But she was able to induce a pop out to second base to end the threat.

Sophomore Amy Van Hoven was placed on second base to begin the eight and took third on fellow classmate Lindsay Mayer's groundout to second. After senior Kayla Lombardo was hit by a pitch, senior Brianna Turgeon slugged a RBI double left field to score Van Hoven for the 3-2 lead, before the Rams left potential insurance runs on second and third.

Gillen walked the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the eighth, placing the potential winning run on base. After a foul out to left field advanced the runners to second and third, Gillen recorded her career-high 15th strikeout and a groundball to first to clinch the thrilling come-from-behind victory.

Gillen (4-1) also allowed two earned runs on five hits and issued five walks in her third complete game of the season. Senior Michele Daubman reached base three times and had two of seven Fordham hits, while Canessa had two RBI.

Sappington, who shut the Rams out over the first 6.2 innings, earned the no-decision in the circle after allowing two earned runs on five hits to go along with three walks and seven strikeouts. Bert (1-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up one unearned run on two hits in 1.1 innings. Ambree Mueller had two of the Paladin's five hits and a RBI to lead the offense.

Game Two
The bats came alive in the nightcap, as Fordham scored its eight runs on 11 hits, with seven of the runs coming in the fifth and sixth innings. Canessa, Van Hoven, Mayer, Ianiro and sophomore Lauren Quense all had two hits for the Rams. Canessa and Ianiro both scored twice, while Van Hoven collected three RBI. Quense hit the first home run of her career, a no doubter over the left field fence that proved to be the game-winning hit.

Canessa tripled to lead off the game and scored on Canessa's RBI single to put Fordham in front 1-0, before the visitors knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second on Taylor Collins' RBI triple down the right-field line. Collins then tried to score on a groundball to Van Hoven at second base, but she gunned her at the plate to prevent the go-ahead run from scoring.

Neither side scored over the next two innings, but Quense's lead-off bomb in the fifth started a four-run rally for the Rams, who took a 5-1 lead. Ianio and Canessa followed with a single and a double and scored on Van Hoven's two-run triple to right-center field. Van Hoven then capped the scoring by scampering home on a wild pitch.

Fordham loaded the bases to start the sixth and tallied three more runs to stretch its advantage to 8-1. Ianiro singled home Mayer, and Canessa followed with a bases-loaded walk to score freshman Morgan Figueroa. Ianiro then scored the final run on Daubman's RBI groundout to first.

Daubman (2-2) stared in the circled and earned the victory after allowing one earned run on five hits in 5.0 innings of work, before junior Patti Maloney tossed the final two innings for Fordham.

Bert (1-2) was charged with her second loss of the day, as she yielded five earned runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings. Collins finished a perfect 3-for-3 with the lone RBI, while Taylor Jenkins added two hits.

The Rams conclude their stay in the Palmetto State at 12 p.m. Saturday when they take on Gardner-Webb at Pepsi Stadium.