ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -- The Fordham softball team collected a split Wednesday in its Atlantic 10 doubleheader against St. Bonaventure. The Rams won the opener, 10-2, before dropping the nightcap, 4-3. With the split, Fordham moves to 22-17 (8-5 A10) on the season, while the Bonnies go to 9-16 (5-7 A10) overall.
Game OneThe Rams found themselves trailing 1-0 after the second inning when Katie Sinclair homered to give SBU an early 1-0 lead. But the visitors were able to take their first lead of the game in the top of the fourth when senior
Paige Ortiz continued her torrid home run hitting with a two-run shot over the right field fence, as her team-leading seventh of the season scored fellow classmate
Kayla Lombardo to produce a 2-1 Fordham advantage.
After SBU knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Rams exploded for six runs in the top of the sixth to take a commanding 9-2 lead. Redshirt junior
Rachel Gillen gave Fordham the lead for good with a two-run homer to straight-away center field, with Lombardo also scoring on the lefty's second of the season. The Rams then scored on four singles. Senior
Brianna Turgeon drove home fellow classmate
Cora Ianiro, sophomore
Lindsay Mayer drove home freshman
Morgan Figueroa and sophomore
Sydney Canessa, and Gillen capped the scoring with two more RBI that plated sophomore
Amy Van Hoven and Mayer.
Fordham added one final run in the top of the seventh when Ianiro scored on Figueroa's RBI single, which made the final score 10-2.
The Rams pounded out 14 hits, with Van Hoven, Lombardo, Gillen, Ortiz and Ianiro all collecting two. Lombardo and Ianiro scored twice, while Gillen, Mayer and Ortiz combined for eight RBI.
Gillen (15-7) earned the victory in the circle after allowing two earned runs on five hits while walking none and fanning four in 5.0 innings. Junior
Patti Maloney scattered four hits over the final two scoreless innings.
Carly Bilchak (0-3) took the loss, as she allowed six earned runs on nine hits over 5.2 innings of work. She walked one and struck out two. Emily Belfield went 3-for-3 to lead the Bonnies' offense.
Game TwoFordham was unable to hold a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth and allowed three runs in the frame, before succumbing to the final run in SBU's final at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, which gave the home team the 4-3 victory.
Lombardo manufactured the Rams' runs in the contest with a RBI single in the top of the first that scored Van Hoven, and her fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the top of the sixth that also scored Van Hoven.
But SBU was finally able to get to Fordham starter
Michele Daubman in the bottom of the sixth and used four consecutive hits to start the inning to knock her out of the game. Gillen then came in relief and minimized the damage.
After the Rams went down in order in the top of the seventh, the Bonnies' Desiree Gonzalez delivered a two-out walk-off single that gave the home team the victory.
Gillen (15-8) was charged with the loss, as she allowed one earned run on two hits while walking two and fanning one in 1.2 innings of work. Daubman went 5+ innings, scattered 10 hits, allowed three runs (two earned), walked none and struck out three.
Van Hoven finished 3-for-3 with two runs, while Lombardo went 2-for-2 with a run and three RBI. Gillen and Figueroa added the other two hits for Fordham.
Josie Borysevick (8-6) went the distance for SBU in the circle to collect the victory. She yielded three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walked one and whiffed one. Kelli Rohan finished with three hits and two runs, while Grace Rooney and Sinclar each collected a pair.
Up NextThe Rams return to action this weekend, April 18-19, when they return to Bahoshy Field to host Saint Joseph's in a critical three-game conference series. The two sides will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 12 p.m., before playing a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
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