Softball Returns to Florida This Weekend to Face Even Stiffer Competition

Live Stats (South Florida) | Live Stats (Tennessee)
Live Stats (Auburn) | Live Audio (Auburn)

BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham softball team (1-4) returns to action this weekend when the Rams once again travel to the Sunshine State to participate in the Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Foundation Invitational in Clearwater. And for the second consecutive weekend, Fordham will face three nationally-ranked teams.
The Rams are slated to start play Friday at 11 a.m. against DePaul, before playing South Florida at 3:45 p.m. Fordham then plays a pair of contests Saturday beginning with #19/20 James Madison at 10 a.m. and #12/14 Tennessee right after that at 12:15 p.m. The Rams conclude the tournament Sunday morning at 9 a.m. versus #3/3 Auburn.

Fans can follow the games against South Florida, Tennessee and Auburn via live stats, while an audio feed will be available in the matchup with Auburn.

Last Time Out
Fordham concluded its opening-weekend trip to Florida last Sunday with a 2-1 loss at Stetson. The difference in the contest came in the bottom of the first when the Hatters scored both its runs off starter Rachel Gillen. Stetson tallied three of its five hits in the frame, as the Hatters took advantage of the graduate student's shaky start.

Fordham, who had a chance to score in the top of the first, before stranding freshman Jessica Hughes at third, placed runners at second and third with two outs in the top of the third but failed to score. Stetson attempted to add on with two outs in the bottom of the third, but the unconventional 2-6-2-5-1 putout ended the inning.

The Rams crossed the plate their only time in the top of the fourth when freshman Chelsea Skrepenak scored on junior Lauren Quense's RBI single up the middle, which also advanced fellow classmate Stephanie Ferri to second base, as the Fordham starting catcher also singled up the middle. But the Rams were unable to tack on and found themselves still trailing by one.

Neither side did much over the final three innings. Junior Sydney Canessa gave the Rams hope when she drew a two-out walk in the top of the seventh, but a groundout to shortstop ended the game in the Hatters' favor, 2-1.

Gillen (1-2) allowed two earned runs on five hits, walked one and whiffed four in the complete-game effort. Hughes went 3-for-4 to pace the offense.

About DePaul
The Blue Demons, who are picked to finish third in the BIG EAST, started their season last weekend with a 2-3 record at the CenturyLink Classic in San Marco, Texas. DePaul defeated Abilene Christian (6-5), lost to Northwestern State (5-1),Texas State (4-3) Oklahoma State (3-0) and beat Northwestern State (1-0). Morgan Maize slashed .438/.500/.688 with seven hits, including a double and a home run, three runs and three RBI. She also started three of our games in the circle – completing two with one shutout – and finishing 2-2 with a 3.20 ERA, 14 walks, 18 strikeouts and 18 hits allowed over 19.2 innings pitched. The Rams trail in the all-time series, 2-1, which dates back to 2011 when Fordham claimed a 9-3 victory over the 25th-ranked Blue Demons in Clearwater five years to the date of Friday's game. The Blue Demons then won, 4-2, in Clearwater in February 2013 and 8-0 in Charleston, S.C. in February 2014.

About South Florida
The Bulls, who are picked to finish fourth in the American Athletic Conference, started their season last weekend with a 1-4 record at their own Wilson DeMarini Tournament in Tampa, which included a pair of losses to #1 Florida, 11-1 (5), and #2 Michigan, 11-2. USF also dropped a 7-1 decision to South Carolina and fell to Virginia Tech, 6-3. The Bulls earned their only victory in a 2-1 triumph over Illinois State. Juli Weber slashed .357/.400/.571 with five hits, including a home run, two runs, three RBI and a stolen base. Five different pitchers saw action in the circle, with Erica Nunn starting in all three games she pitched. Nunn went 0-2 with an 8.44ERA over 10.2 innings pitched. She allowed 10 earned runs on 15 hits, walked 10 and fanned 11. Cheyenne Figgins was USF's most effective pitcher. She also tossed 10.2 innings – all in four relief appearances – finishing 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA and six strikeouts while yielding 12 hits, four earned runs and just one walk. The all-time series is tied at 3-3 after the Rams smashed the Bulls, 14-6, as they roughed up Nunn in last season's USF President's Day Tournament. Fordham also won, 1-0 (8), in Clearwater in February 2011, and 3-1 in Clearwater in February 2007.

About JMU
The Rams will be facing James Madison for the second time this season, after the Dukes squeaked out a 1-0 victory last Friday at the UCF Knights Invitational in Orlando. JMU finished the tournament 4-1 with wins over Rutgers (5-0, 8-3) and #17/17 UCF (1-0), while falling to #5/5 Alabama, 2-1. Fordham now trails 9-5 in the all-time series, after the Rams mustered only one hit in the loss. In the circle, Megan Good finished 2-1 with a 0.00 ERA, one shutout, one complete game, one save, 21 strikeouts, five walks and nine hits allowed over 20.0 innings pitched. Jailyn Ford went 2-0 with a 0.54 ERA and struck out 13, walked five and yielded six hits over 13.0 innings of work. She tossed 3.0 innings of hitless relief against Fordham to earn the victory. At the dish, Morgan Tolle slashed .400/.375/.600 with six hits, including a home run, three runs, three RBI and a stolen base. Ford also homered and drove in five while slashing .286/.412/.571 while stealing three bases.

About  Tennessee
The Volunteers, who are picked to finish fifth in the Southeast Conference, are off to a 4-2 start after participating in the Kajikawa Classic last weekend in Tempe, Ariz. Tennessee knocked off Creighton (5-0) and BYU (15-3), before dropping games to Fresno State (7-3) and #20/22 Arizona State (5-4) which was a true road game in an eight-inning loss. The Volunteers then bounced back with wins over San Jose State (9-2) and Northwestern (8-2). Erin Gabriel was dominant in the circle, posting a 2-1 record with a 0.97 ERA, three complete games and 34 strikeouts to earn SEC Pitcher of the Week honors. Offensively, the freshmen duo of Aubrey Leach and Brooke Vines combined for 20 hits, 10 RBI, nine runs and seven stolen bases. Also, Rainey Gaffin batted .417 with three doubles and five RBI, while Lexi Overstreet led the team with seven RBI. The Rams and Volunteers met for the first time in series history last season in Tampa at USF's President's Day Tournament, with #11/14 Tennessee claiming a 5-0 victory.

About  Auburn
The Tigers, who are picked to finish third in the SEC, are off to a 6-0 start after demolishing opponents to a tune of 89-10, including four run-rule victories, three of which they scored 15+ runs at their own Plainsman Invite. Against Butler, the Tigers posted 28 runs en route to a 28-2 victory. Auburn also beat Appalachian State twice (9-0, 22-5), Western Kentucky (19-1) and Furman (9-2). The Tigers are coming off a mid-week 2-0 victory at #15 UCF. Five players are batting over .400, with two over .500, including Tiffany Howard, who boasts a .688 average. In the circle, Marcy Harper is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, one complete-game shutout and 12 strikeouts while walking just three and allowing eight hits over 16.0 innings of work. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Rams and the Tigers.

Up Next
Fordham returns to action Feb. 26-28 when the Rams travel back to Florida for a third time to participate at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic II in Orlando. Fordham will take on Syracuse, North Florida, Penn State, Morgan State and Charlotte.