ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Fordham softball team concluded play at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic II Sunday with a 10-5 victory over former Atlantic 10 rival Charlotte. With the victory, the Rams finish 4-1 at the Classic and improve to 6-9 on the season, while the 49ers fall to 12-2 overall.
Fordham trailed 2-0 after one inning of play, before junior
Stephanie Ferri doubled home sophomore
Madison Shaw in the top of the second to trim the deficit to 2-1. However, Charlotte answered back with a run of its own in the bottom half to inch its lead to 3-1.
But Fordham was able to even in the top of the third when it scored twice to deadlock the game at 3-3. Freshman
Jessica Hughes scored on junior
Lindsay Mayer's RBI single, and junior
Sydney Canessa tied the contest when she was allowed home on an illegal pitch.
Neither side did anything in the fourth, and the Rams were unable to score in the fifth. The 49ers were able to retake the lead in the bottom half with a single run for a 4-3 lead.
The advantage, however, was very short-lived, as Fordham scored six times in the top of the sixth to take a commanding 9-4 lead. Hughes started the scoring when she came around on Canessa's RBI single, before junior
Amy Van Hoven sprinted home on graduate student
Rachel Gillen's RBI sacrifice fly. But the big blow in the inning came off the bat of Shaw, who slugged a 2-0 pitch for a three-run bomb – her first of the season – as Canessa and Mayer scored. Figueora capped the scoring with a RBI single that drove home freshman
Jordana Storm.
Canessa then hit her third long ball of the season and second of the tournament in the top of the seventh to increase the lead to 10-4, before the 49ers scored a meaningless run in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score 10-5.
Fordham pounded out 13 hits for the second straight game to tie a season high. Charlotte came into the contest with the fifth-best team ERA in the nation. Canessa finished 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, three runs and a stolen base, while Shaw and Storm both added two hits. Shaw also added a double to go along with her home run, team-high three RBI and two runs. Hughes also reached base three times, stealing two bases and scoring two runs.
Gillen (4-5) picked up the win after tossing 4.1 innings of relief. She allowed two earned runs on six hits, walked one and struck out five. Haley Wiseman (5-1) was charged with the loss after tossing 4.2 innings of relief, yielding seven earned runs on nine hits to go along with four walks and two strikeouts.
The 49ers also had 13 hits, with Kiersten Berrier leading the way with three and two stolen bases, while four different players recorded a pair.
The Rams return to action next weekend, March 4-6, at Mercer's Orange & Black Challenge in Macon, Ga. With games against Iowa State, Boston College and the hosts.
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