Softball to Play Three Mid-Week Games Starting Tuesday

Live Stats for All Three Games | Twitter Updates @FordhamSoftball
Live Audio vs. Northwestern | Live Video vs. Iona and Seton Hall

BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham softball team (12-12) is set to play in the northeast for the first time this week when it plays three nonconference games, before returning to Atlantic 10 action over the weekend. The Rams are slated to play Northwestern (14-10) in a 5 p.m. contest Tuesday evening at Hofstra Softball Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y., before hosting Iona (2-11) at 3 p.m. this Wednesday, March 25 and Seton Hall (11-15) this Thursday, March 26 at 3 p.m. in the first two home games at the Bahoshy Softball Complex.

Last Time Out
The Rams dropped two of three games at Saint Louis over the weekend to begin the conference season 1-2. Fordham was walked-off twice by the Billikens, who rallied from three runs down to win the opener (5-3), before coming back from five down in the series finale to stun the Rams, 11-10. Fordham bounced back to win game two, 8-5. Senior Kayla Lombardo hit .600 (6-for-10) in the series with three runs, three RBI and one walk, sophomore Lindsay Mayer batted .364 (4-for-11) with three runs, two RBI and one walk. Seniors Michele Daubman and Cora Ianiro each hit .300 (3-for-10) and slugged a home run, with Daubman collecting four runs and four RBI and Ianiro recording three runs and five RBI. The pitching, however, was not very strong for the Rams. Redshirt junior Rachel Gillen managed to earn the lone victory to improve to 8-5 and collect her seventh complete game of the season. She also struck out 15 and walked just three in 12.0 innings of work.

Northwestern
2015 Season: 14-10 (3-0 B1G)
When: Tuesday, March 24 - 5 p.m.
Where: Hempstead, N.Y. (Hofstra Softball Stadium)
Series History: First Meeting
What You Need To Know: The Wildcats, who will be playing Hofstra tomorrow before they face the Rams, have won seven in a row and 11 of 12, with the lone loss coming to #14 UCLA. Northwestern started Big Ten play last weekend with a three-game sweep at Penn State, who handled Fordham earlier this month, 6-1. The Wildcats entered their series with the Nittany Lions having hit 17 home runs in its first 21 games, before slugging 13 in the three games, with Olivia Duehr leading the way with four home runs. Overall, Northwestern is hitting .309 and averaging 6.1 runs per game as a team. Andrea DiPrima is slashing .437/.565/.718 with 31 hits, eight doubles, four home runs, 20 RBI and 14 runs, while Andrea Filler has a slash line of .400/.460/.771 with 28 hits, eight doubles, six home runs, 30 RBI and 18 runs. Four other players are hitting .333 or higher, with Amy Letourneau (.344/.440/.641) adding five home runs, 18 RBI and 13 runs. In the circle, junior Kristen Wood earned all three victories at Penn State to improve to 7-3 on the season. She has a 3.73 ERA, seven complete games (two shutouts), 109 strikeouts and 56 walks in 81.0 innings while yielding 63 hits and an opponent's batting average of .209 in 20 appearances (14 starts). Letourneau has started 10 of 17 games and is 7-7 with a 4.98 ERA, four compete games (one shutout), 55 strikeouts and 59 walks in 71.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .272 and have recorded 76 hits.

Iona
2015 Season: 2-11
When: Wedneday, March 25 - 3 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Bahoshy Softball Complex)
Series History: Fordham leads 30-18 (since 1985)
Last Meeting: April 23, 2013 - Fordham 8 Iona 2 (in Bronx, N.Y.)
What You Need To Know: The Gaels play at Army tomorrow, before making the short trip to the Bronx from New Rochelle. Iona has been idle since March 17 when it lost a pair of games to Fairleigh Dickinson (7-5) and Loyola Marymount (2-0) out in Los Angeles. The Gaels have dropped three in a row and have recorded victories at Charleston Southern (4-1) and against Buffalo (6-4) in Northridge, Calif. Iona struggles on offensive, as the Gaels are hitting just .226 and scoring 2.3 runs per game. Brianna Schauer is hitting .342 with 13 hits, one double, two home runs, 10 RBI and five runs, while Sarah Schutz is batting .325 with 13 hits, two doubles, two home runs, five RBI and four runs. The pitching staff has pitched to a 6.41 ERA over 78.2 innings with 102 hits, 71 walks and 24 strikeouts. Four different players have made at least one start and at least three appearances.

Seton Hall
2015 Season: 11-15
When: Thursday, March 26 - 3 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Bahoshy Softball Complex)
Series History: Seton Hall leads 14-13 (since 1987)
Last Meeting: March 17, 2010 - Fordham 8 Iona 0 (in five innings), Fordham 3 Seton Hall 0 (in Bronx, N.Y.)
What You Need To Know: The Pirates begin BIG EAST play Tuesday and Wednesday with a three-game series against DePaul at home, before traveling to the Bronx. Seton Hall started the year 5-0 but then lost eight straight. The offense is hitting .273, averaging 5.4 runs per game, has hit 28 home runs and has stolen 23-of-31 bases. Valerie Suto has played in 23 of 26 games and is batting .352 with 19 hits, 14 runs and a team-best seven stolen bases (in nine attempts). Alexis Walkden is the top overall offensive player, as she is slashing .339/.431/.855 with 21 hits, five doubles, nine home runs, 25 RBI and 15 runs. Whitney Jones slashes .316/.398/.605 with 24 hits, six doubles, two triples, four home runs, 20 RBI and 19 runs, while Sara Haefeli adds four doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBI and 16 runs. The pitching staff has recorded a 4.86 ERA over 164.1 innings with 207 hits, 101 walks and 106 strikeouts. Lauren Fischer is 4-7 with a 3.71 ERA, seven complete games, 39 walks and 28 strikeouts in 68.0 innings, and Danielle Destaso is 5-6 with a 4.32 ERA, five complete games (one shutout), 80 hits, 33 walks and 63 strikeouts in 68.0 innings as well.

Up Next
The Rams have Friday off before returning to the Bahoshy Softball Complex this Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29 to host La Salle in a three-game conference series. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m., while Sunday's single game is scheduled for 1 p.m.