Baseball Kicks Off 2016 Season at First Pitch Invitational

The Fordham baseball team kicks off its 2016 season this weekend at the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville, South Carolina with three games against three different opponents.  All games will be played at Fluor Field, the minor league home of the Greenville Drive, the Single A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
 
The Rams open the weekend with a 4:00 PM game on Friday against the host school Furman, followed by a Saturday matinee against Presbyterian and a Sunday morning showdown with Michigan State.

 
Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Friday: Fordham – RHP Greg Weissert vs. Furman – RHP Will Gaddis // Live Stats | Live Audio
 
Saturday: Fordham – RHP Joseph Serrapica vs. Presbyterian – LHP Brian Kehner // Live Stats
 
Sunday: Fordham – RHP Jimmy Murphy vs. Michigan State – RHP Walter Borkovich // Live Stats
 
Series History
The Rams haven't had many games against this weekend's trio of opponents.  Fordham has a 0-4 combined record against the Blue Hose (0-1) and the Spartans (0-3), while this is the first-ever meeting with the Furman Paladins.   The Rams fell to Presbyterian, 9-3, back in 2014, while dropping two games to Michigan State in 1984 and a single game in 1992.
 
Team Captains
Fordham will had a quartet of captains this season, as seniors Joseph Runco, Joseph DeVito, Ian Edmiston, and Jimmy Murphy will serve in that capacity this season
 
Preseason Accolades
Two Rams received preseason accolades from College Sports Madness, as junior Matthew Kozuch and sophomore Ben Greenberg were named to the Preseason Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams.  Kozuch was listed on the First Team, while Greenberg was on the Second Team.
                     
Last season, Kozuch had a breakout sophomore season, starting 50 of 52 games in 2015.  He led the Rams with a .333 batting average, as well as slugging percentage (.477), on-base percentage (.468), walks (40), and triples (3). He registered 58 hits, 35 runs scored, 10 doubles, three home runs, and 34 RBI, ranking second or third on the team in each of those categories. 
 
Kozuch also reached base safely in 49 of 52 games, which included a season-long 26-game stretch, and finished as the Atlantic 10 leader in walks and on-base percentage.  He also was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team.
 
Greenberg, an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection in 2015, had an immediate impact on the Rams' pitching staff.  He appeared in 18 games with 11 starts, and led Fordham in ERA at 3.04, while being second on the team in innings pitched (71.0), third in wins (4), and fifth in appearances and strikeouts (33).  He also excelled in conference play with a team-best 2.28 ERA over 43.1 innings.  In addition to his All-Rookie Team status, Greenberg earned All-American honors from the Jewish Sports Review.

 

Infield Prowess
The Rams enter the season will one of the most experienced infield in the Atlantic 10, led by seniors Joseph Runco, Joseph DeVito, and Ian Edmiston and junior Matthew Kozuch.
 
Though slowed by injury late last season, Runco remains one of the best basestealing threats in the country, racking up 71 stolen bases over the past three seasons.  He looks to get back to his 2014 form where he was a Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection and led the Rams in runs scored and stolen bases.
 
For DeVito, Edmiston, and Kozuch, all three had career-years in the 2015, as all of them batted over .300 with at least 20 runs scored, 10 doubles, and 25 RBI. Kozuch led the Rams with a .333 batting average to go with 35 runs scored and 34 RBI, while Edmiston was second on the team in average at .307 with team-highs of 59 hits and 16 doubles.  DeVito, who was a career.189 hitter through his first two seasons, had a breakout campaign by batting .305 with 11 doubles and 33 RBI in 2015.
 
All four infielders also flash the leather, as each recorded a .970 fielding percentage or higher last season.
 
Experienced Outfield
Like the infield, Fordham brings back all three starters from a year ago with graduate student Ryan McNally and juniors Jason Lundy and Mark Donadio.  Each of them started over 50 games a year ago and scored at least 20 runs with Donadio and McNally each driving in 24 runs apiece.

 
From Bullpen to Rotation
After seeing most of their action out of the bullpen in 2015, senior pitchers Joseph Serrapica and Jimmy Murphy will begin 2016 in the weekend rotation.  Serrapica came out of the bullpen in 21 of his 23 appearances last season, posting a team-high four saves and averaged a strikeout per inning.  Murphy had three wins and three saves out of the bullpen as 19 of his 24 appearances came in relief.
 
Who's Next
The Rams will travel to Wilson, North Carolina next weekend for a four-game series against Canisius College, February 26-28.