Softball Set to Start NCAA Tournament Play Friday at JMU

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HARRISONBURG, Va. -- The Fordham softball team (36-18, 7-5 A10) begins the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Friday at the Harrisonburg Regional. The Rams, who are the number three seed, is set to face second-seeded North Carolina State (35-20, 13-8 ACC) at Veterans Memorial Park, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.

James Madison (47-8, 19-0 CAA) is the host and is the #15 overall seed. The Dukes are currently ranked #17/17 and are the top seed in the regional. They will take on fourth-seeded Binghamton (24-19, 10-6 America East) at 4:30 p.m.

BACK IN THE TOURNEY
For the fifth time in the last six years, the Fordham Rams have made it into the field of 64, claiming their third consecutive Atlantic 10 title, fourth in five years, and fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last six.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK ATLANTIC 10 TITLES
After finishing third in the standings after the conclusion of the regular season, the Rams knew they needed to win four games in four days, and they did just that by clicking on all cylinders. Fordham avenged all five of its conference losses, first by defeating St. Bonaventure (5-1), Saint Louis (5-1) and Dayton (8-2). The Rams also defeated upset-minded George Mason (4-2) for the fourth time this season to reach the finals, where they took down the Flyers.

Against the sixth-seeded Bonnies in the opener, Fordham rallied from a 1-0 deficit by scoring five runs over its final two at-bats. Behind the ability of senior Cora Ianiro to put the ball in play coupled with redshirt junior Rachel Gillen's pitching performance, Fordham was able to prevent an upset, after St. Bonaventure grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second. The Rams tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth, before scoring four earned runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away. Gillen (21-8) went the distance for the 17th time and allowed the one earned run on eight hits, issued one intentional walk and fanned 11. She also had two hits to lead the offense, who finished with eight, while sophomore Sydney Canessa added the only two RBI.

Against the third-seeded Billikens, the Rams once again had to rally from an early 1-0 deficit. Fordham used timely hitting, strong pitching and defense, and a spark from sophomore Ally Vergona, who came off the bench to collect a couple hits, drive home a run and make a tremendous diving catch from her backstop position in the bottom of the sixth. Senior Michele Daubman (11-8) continued her strong pitching of late and earned the victory in the circle after tossing 4.0 innings of one-run, three-hit ball while walking one and fanning four. Junior Patti Maloney produced her best pitching performance of the season, as she limited Saint Louis to no hits, one walk and one strikeout over the final 3.0 innings to collect her first save of the season.                         

Ianiro continued her clutch play in the tournament against fourth-seeded George Mason. She broke a scoreless tie with one out in the bottom of the fourth when she laced a RBI triple down the right field line to score Daubman, who doubled to the left-center field gap one batter before. The three-bagger started a three-run inning for the Rams, as senior Brianna Turgeon followed with a RBI single to score Ianiro. Fordham would plate one more in the frame to take a 3-0 lead, before Ianiro drove home Daubman one inning later with a RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0, which was all the Rams needed. Gillen (22-8) scattered seven hits, allowed two runs (one earned), walked one and struck out four over 6.2 innings of work to earn her 22nd victory. Daubman struck out the final batter of the game to produce her second save of the season.

In the finals against Dayton and only needing to win one game, Fordham broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth with four runs, before adding four more runs in the top of the seventh to take a comfortable 8-2 lead after the Flyers trimmed the advantage in half. Gillen hit a grand slam in the top of the seventh to clinch the victory, and she went the distance in the circle to clinch the three-peat championship. She went the distance for the 18th time, collected her 23rd victory, scattered five hits, walked two and fanned seven. She also finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, grand slam, two runs and four RBI and was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Atlantic 10 Championship. Joining Gillen on the All-Tournament Team was Ianiro, Canessa and sophomore Lindsay Mayer.

North Carolina State
2015 Season: 35-20 (13-8 ACC)
When: Friday, May 15 - 2 p.m.
Where: Harrisonburg, Va. (Veterans Memorial Park)
Series History: North Carolina State leads 3-1 (since 2006)
Last Meeting: March 15, 2015 - #25/25 North Carolina State 5 Fordham 0 (in Raleigh, N.C.)
What You Need To Know: Entering the tournament at 35-20 and a fifth-place finish in the regular season of the ACC, the Woflpack check in as the two seed in the Harrisonburg Regional. The offense is hitting a respectable .272, but it has some major pop with 69 home runs while getting on base at a .375 clip. Renada Davis was named First Team All-ACC after slashing .382/.491/.676 with team highs of 47 runs, 66 hits, 15 doubles, 36 walks and nine stolen bases to go along with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. Tyler Ross follows right behind with a slash line of .316/.397/.609 with team bests of 14 home runs and 54 RBI and nine stolen bases as well.The pitching is a strength, as the staff has pitched to a 2.55 ERA over 357.1 innings with 276 hits, 135 walks and a whopping 417 strikeouts. Emily Weiman, another First Team All-ACC performer, is 28-15 with a 2.41 ERA, 29 complete games, 10 shutouts and one save over 256.0 innings. She has allowed 196 hits and 90 free passes while fanning 294, with opponents hitting only .203.

James Madison
2015 Season: 47-8 (19-0 CAA)
When: TBD
Where: Harrisonburg, Va. (Veterans Memorial Park)
Series History: Fordham leads 8-4 (since 2003)
Last Meeting: March 15, 2013 - Fordham 12 JMU 1 (5) (in Harrisonburg, Va.)
What You Need To Know: The number one seed in the Harrisonburg Regional and the number 15 overall seed in the field of 64, the Dukes will be the team to beat this weekend. Entering the tournament with an overall record of 47-8, JMU has lost two of its last four contests, both to Hofstra at home in the CAA Tournament, after going a perfect 19-0 in league play during the regular season, the second ever perfect CAA record. The Dukes produced a program-record, 36-game win streak this year, nearly going two months without a single loss. The squad swept the conference awards, highlighted by junior Jailyn Ford being named CAA Player of the Year. Freshman Megan Good was selected as the Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, and junior Erica Field repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, while Mickey Dean was voted Coach of the Year for the second straight season. The Dukes rank third in the country in triples per game (0.40) while also ranking fifth in team ERA (1.66), ninth in batting average (.350), 13th in doubles per game (1.67), 17th in slugging percentage (.560) and 31st in stolen bases per game (1.55). Individually, Good, who is 28-2 this season, holds the fifth-best ERA in Division I, at 1.00, while ranking 11th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.11) and 23rd in sacrifice flies (5). Field is 10th in doubles per game (0.38), 27th in RBIs (60) and 31st in batting average (.444). Ford ranks 10th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.9) and 14th in hits allowed per seven (4.16) while sophomore Niki Prince is 25th in triples (5).

Binghamton
2015 Season: 24-19 (10-6 AE)
When: TBD
Where: Harrisonburg, Va. (Veterans Memorial Park)
Series History: Fordham leads 8-2 (since 2004)
Last Meeting: March 13, 2013 - Fordham 6 Binghamton 4 (in Raleigh, N.C.)
What You Need To Know: The Bearcats finished third in the America East, but came out of the loser's bracket of the conference tournament to defeat top-seeded Stony Brook twice, after the Seawolves defeated them, 16-2. Binghamton finished 24-19 (10-6 AE) and have won three straight entering the Harrisonburg Regional. This is their first NCAA Tournament appearance. The offense is a strength for Binghamton, who is hitting .302 and averaging 6.0 runs per game, with 43 home runs in 44 games. Lisa Cadogan (.434/.536/.811, 10 HR, 52 RBI, 22 R, 53 H, 16 2B, 24 BB), Taylor Chaffee (.311/.453/.528, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 16 R, 33 H) and Sydney Harbaugh (.343/.467/.606, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 47 R, 47 H, 7 2B, 29 BB, 23 SB) were all named First Team All-America East. In the circle, the Bearcats have pitched to a 5.41 ERA over 279.2 inning, with 367 hits, 159 walks and 150 strikeouts while opponents are hitting .315. Cara Martin is 10-4 with a 3.91 ERA in 91.1 innings. She has appeared in 30 games (six starts) and has three complete games (one shutout) and two saves to go along with 107 hits, 35 walks and 46 strikeouts. Sarah Miller has started 25 of 33 games and is 11-7 with a 5.29 ERA. She also has three complete games and one shutout while tossing 123.0 innings. Overall, she has allowed 153 hits and 72 walks to go along with 76 strikeouts.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, May 15
Game 1: 2 p.m. – NC State vs. Fordham
Game 2: 4:30 p.m. – JMU vs. Binghamton
 
Saturday, May 16
Game 3: 2 p.m. – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 4: 4:30 p.m. – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 5: 7 p.m. – Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
 
Sunday, May 17
Game 6: 2 p.m. – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5
Game 7: 4:30 p.m. – if necessary