Softball Concludes Home Slate Wednesday Against St. John's

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham softball team (28-18) concludes the home portion of its schedule Wednesday when the Rams host St. John's (23-14) at Bahoshy Field, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.

The two sides played Feb. 13 at the USF Presidents' Day Weekend Tournament in Tampa, Fla., and the Rams came out on top, 3-0, in a pitchers' duel that saw redshirt junior Rachel Gillen strike out a then career-high 11 batters while limiting the Red Storm to just three hits, including two in the final inning, in the complete-game shutout. Fordham managed just four hits, scoring on a pair of RBI groundouts and a home run courtesy of senior Michele Daubman.

Last Time Out
The Rams are coming off a three-game sweep of George Washington at Bahoshy Field last weekend to move to stay within a half game of second-place Saint Louis. Fordham blistered the softball, hitting a red-hot .423 (30-for-71) while reaching base at a ridiculous clip of .527. The Rams hit four home runs, drove home 24, were a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts, and struck out only twice, as they outscored the Colonials 25-4. The pitching, meanwhile limited GW to a .179 average (10-for-56), which included 11 strikeouts. Sophomore Sydney Canessa slashed .600/.667/1.300 with six hits, five runs, two home runs, seven RBI and a stolen base, while fellow classmate Amy Van Hoven hit .667 (6-for-9) with three runs, two RBI and a stolen base. Gillen added five RBI and was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week for the third straight week and sixth time this season after pitching a pair of complete-game efforts, including a shutout in the opener. The southpaw scattered six hits, walked three and fanned nine over 12.0 innings of work.

St. John's
2015 Season: 23-14 (14-1 BIG EAST); play a doubleheader (4/28) at Manhattan
When: Wednesday, April 29 - 1 a.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Bahoshy Field)
Series History: St. John's leads 12-7 (since April 23, 1985)
Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2015 - Fordham 3 St. John's  0 (in Tampa, Fla.)
What You Need To Know: The Red Storm has won 19 of their last 22 games and has cruised in BIG EAST play, dropping only one game. SJU is very strong offensively with a .321 average, 31 home runs and 42 stolen bases (out of 54 attempts) while averaging 5.6 runs per game. Erin Burner is the big bopper who leads the team in every major category. She is slashing .467/.564/.924 with 49 hits, 33 runs, 12 doubles, 12 home runs, 47 RBI and 25 walks, while Krystal Puga is slashing .402/.483/.754 with 39 hits, 25 runs, 11 home runs and 33 RBI. Overall, nine players are hitting over .300, with seven hitting over .330. The pitching has also been very strong for the Red Storm, who has pitched to a 2.82 ERA over 238.1 innings with 252 hits, 114 walks and 191 strikeouts. Tori Free has started 15 of 19 games and is 9-5 with a 1.52 ERA, 10 complete games, two shutouts, 65 hits, 48 walks and 99 strikeouts over 92.1 innings. McKenzie Murray has started seven of 15 games and is 5-3 with a 2.68 ERA, three complete games, 58 hits, 17 walks and 23 strikeouts over 47.0 innings. Rounding out the trio is Francesca Carrullo, who is 9-4 with a 3.16 ERA, five complete games, three shutouts, 87 hits, 29 walks and 50 strikeouts over 73.0 innings while starting 10 of 18 games.

Up Next
The Rams conclude the regular season this weekend, May 2-3, with three games at George Mason beginning with a doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. If Fordham wins all three games, and Saint Louis loses one of its games with Massachusetts, the Rams clinch a bye in next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament in Amherst, Mass.