Baseball Hosts Saint Louis in Crucial A-10 Series

Winners of three straight Atlantic 10 series, the Fordham baseball team (15-24, 6-6 A10) is right in the thick of the Atlantic 10 playoff race as the calendar hits the late stages of April.  The Rams will host one of the Atlantic 10 leaders for the second straight weekend, as they host the Saint Louis Billikens (28-12, 9-3 A10) for a three-game series at Houlihan Park.
 
The series begins on Friday with a 3:00 PM start, which is a change from the original 6:00 PM start, due to a weather front expected to roll through the New York area, followed by a 5:00 PM start on Saturday, and a noon game on Alumni Day this Sunday.

The Billikens enter the game on a seven-game win streak, and have won 13 of their last 16 games.  It will be the Billikens' first trip to the Bronx for an Atlantic 10 series since 2010.

SERIES HISTORY: Saint Louis leads the all-time series 12-5 with the Billikens having won five straight contests, including all four last season.  Saint Louis swept a three-game series late last season and then eliminated the Rams at the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 12-2 decision at the Billiken Sports Complex.

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Friday: RHP Greg Weissert (3-4, 4.29 ERA) vs. RHP Clay Smith (7-0, 2.66 ERA) - 3:00 PM
Game Coverage: Atlantic 10 Digital Network | Live Stats | Live Audio | @FordhamBaseball Twitter

Saturday: RHP Brett Kennedy (3-6, 4.79 ERA) vs. LHP Josh Moore (4-1, 2.86 ERA) - 5:00 PM
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Live Audio | @FordhamBaseball Twitter

Sunday: RHP Ben Greenberg (3-0, 2.62 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Girrens (5-1, 4.44 ERA) - 12:00 PM
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Live Audio | @FordhamBaseball Twitter

WE'RE GOING STREAKIN': The Rams seem to have hit their stride over the last 14 games, batting close to .300 as a team, while posting just over a 4.50 ERA... Junior Ian Edmiston is hitting .432 (19-44) in his last 14 contests with seven doubles and seven RBI... Junior Joseph DeVito takes a nine-game hitting streak into the weekend.  He is hitting .396 (21-53) over his last 14 games overall with nine runs scored, three doubles, and seven RBI over his last... Junior Joseph Runco is batting .321 (17-53) in his last 14 games with 13 runs scored and 15 stolen bases... Freshman Ben Greenberg has a 1.93 ERA in his last five appearances... Junior Jimmy Murphy has a 0.68 ERA in his last seven relief appearances, allowing just one run in 13.1 innings of relief, while recording a pair of saves.

WHEELIN' & STEALIN':  For the second straight season, Fordham is once again among the NCAA leaders in stolen bases.  The Rams entered this week's action 12th in the country, averaging 1.92 stolen bases per game and 71 swipes overall.
 
Individually, junior Joseph Runco has once again established himself as one of the top basestealing threats in the Atlantic 10 and the country.  Entering this week's play, Runco leads the A-10 and is 7th in NCAA in stolen bases with 24, while he is eighth in stolen bases per game.  He has also climbed into the top ten all-time at Fordham in that category, as he is currently tied for seventh with Pete DeLuca (1989-92) with 68, and is just two behind Rich Goulian (70 - 2005-08) for sixth all-time.

ROAD WARRIORS TO BE HONORED ON SUNDAY: The Fordham baseball team will have their annual Alumni Day on Sunday, prior to the Rams' match-up with the Saint Louis Billikens. 
 
As a part of the Alumni Day festivities, the Rams will be honoring the 1990 and 2005 teams, as well as members of the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame. Both squads are remembered for having not played a home game at Fordham, as the field was under renovation during the season and the team was dubbed "The Road Warriors".

The 1990 team won the 1990 MAAC & ECAC Championships en route to an appearance at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Wichita, Kansas.  The Rams defeated Arkansas in the first game of the regional, to tie the modern day record for team wins with 36.  The team, led by Hall of Fame head coach Dan Gallagher, featured Fordham Athletics Hall of Famers Ray Montgomery, Bobby Aylmer, Pete DeLuca, Jim McDermott, and the late Santy Gallone, as well as four MLB draft picks in Montgomery, Aylmer, McDermott, and Miguel Jimenez.
 
The 2005 team found its way to win 34 games, which at the time tied for the most since the Rams joined the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was headlined by two Fordham Athletic Hall of Famers in Cory Riordan and Tom Davis, as well as five MLB draft picks in Riordan, Davis, Greg Smith, John Mollicone, and Javier Martinez, and eight players who were All-Atlantic 10 performers.
 
Registration can be found here.   For more information, contact Ryan Kirwan at 646-312-8223 or rkirwan1@fordham.edu.

WHO'S NEXT: Following the Saint Louis series, Fordham will play Manhattan on Tuesday, April 28th at 6:30 PM.  The game will take place at Duchess Stadium, the home of the Hudson Valley Renegades.