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Live Stats (All Games)Twitter Updates @FordhamSoftballBRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham softball team returns to action this weekend when it hosts both Providence and Saint Peter's for the first home action of the 2016 season at Bahoshy Field. The Rams will play the Friars twice Friday, with games slated for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and the Peacocks Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.
Fans will have the opportunity to listen to the games Friday and Saturday for free online on WFUV, while a free video stream for Sunday's contests will be available on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network.
The offense has been off to a slow start over the first 20 games, as the team is hitting .240 as a unit. One bright spot has been the play of junior center fielder
Sydney Canessa, who is slashing .357/.463/.696 to lead Fordham in all three categories. She also leads the team in hits (20), run (12), doubles (4), home runs (5 – tying a career high), total bases (39) and walks (9) while being the only player that is hitting over .300.
The pitching has also been up-and-down so far, but the Rams have also faced some very stiff competition. The team ERA is 5.61 over 121.0 innings, and opponents are hitting .345 with 183 hits, including 21 home runs. Graduate student
Rachel Gillen leads the staff with five wins, eight complete games, including one shutout and 60 strikeouts over 72.1 innings. Junior
Lauren Quense has two victories, two complete games and 23 strikeouts in 45.0 innings of work.
Last Time OutGillen tossed a complete game in the circle and slugged a three-run homer in the top of the fourth, which proved to be the game winner, Fordham salvaged its final game of Mercer's Orange & Black Challenge last Sunday with a 5-2 victory over Iowa State to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Cyclones broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third with a RBI single to take a 1-0 lead, before Gillen delivered her first home run of the season in the top of the fourth. With one out, junior
Lindsay MayerÂ
Lindsay Mayer worked a walk on a full count, and sophomore
Madison Shaw Madison reached when she was plunked on a 0-2 pitch. Gillen then stepped to the plate and hit the first pitch she saw over the right field fence to give Fordham the lead for good, 3-1.
After the Cyclones got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out solo home run, the Rams quickly went back to work in the top of the sixth, as they scored two more times to make the final score 5-2. Junior
Sydney Canessa led off the inning with her fifth home run of the season, a solo shot over the fence in left center field. Gillen then reached on an error with two outs, before being lifted for pinch runner
Jordana Storm, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score when junior
Lauren Quense reached on an error.
Gillen was able to pitch around trouble in the bottom of the sixth and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to clinch the victory. Gillen (5-8) scattered five hits, allowed two earned runs, walked two and did not record a strikeout en route recording her eighth complete game of the season. Four different players recorded a hit on offense.
About ProvidenceThe Friars enter Saturday's game riding a three-game win streak after defeating Western Michigan (11-0), Detroit (7-1) and Cornell (10-4) to conclude the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. Like the Rams, Providence started its season with three consecutive trips to the Sunshine State. In their first tournament, the Friars won its first three games, which included an 11-0 victory over Atlantic 10 foe George Mason and a 3-0 victory over North Florida, who Fordham also defeated this year. Providence then dropped a pair of games to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponents Siena (6-3) and Marist (3-2).
The following weekend, the Friars finished 3-4 at the Stetson Invitational, claiming two wins over the hosts (and one loss), who beat the Rams on their home field a month ago, 2-1. Providence also defeated Colgate and lost to Pittsburgh twice and Southern Illinois. And last weekend, the Friars dropped their first two games to Penn and College of Charleston.
Offensively, Providence is slashing .286/.360/.348 with three home runs, 78 RBI, 128 hits, 80 runs and 12 stolen bases (in 18 attempts). Emma Lee is hitting .435 (20-of-46) while reaching base at a .519 clip to lead a group of five hitting .313 or higher. Nicole Lundstrom is one of three players to hit a home run an also leads the team in runs (12) and RBI (13).
 In the circle, the Friars have pitched to a 3.53 ERA over 109.0 innings while opponents are hitting .271. The staff has also tosses three shutouts, 11 complete games, yielded 122 hits and 30 walks, has recorded 65 strikeouts. Megan McCune is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 21.2 innings of work and has given up just 16 hits and three walks while fanning 20 and completing two of three starts. Christina Ramirez is 4-1 with a 3.65 ERA in 38.1 innings and has completed four of six starts while striking out 22 and allowing 47 hits over 38.1 innings. Taylor Huntly has also started six games, with five complete-game efforts, and is 3-5 with a 3.67 ERA in 42.0 innings. She has given up 50 hits and nine walks while striking out 19.
About Saint Peter'sThe Peacocks are winless in 10 games this season, having started the season two weeks later than most teams while playing all of their games in California from Feb. 26-March 5. The team has been run-ruled seven times, with six coming in five innings, and has scored a total of seven runs to go along with five shutouts. The offense is slashing .116/.220/.138 with 22 hits, including just two going for extra bases (double and a home run). The pitching has pitched to a 10.64 ERA and opponents are hitting .417. Tiffany Lambert has been solid in the circle with a 3.11 ERA in 18.0 innings of work. She has appeared in six games, with two starts, and has one complete game while yielding 21 hits and four walks.
Up NextFordham returns to action Wednesday, March 16 when it hosts Hofstra for a 3 p.m. start at Bahoshy Field, before traveling to Towson, Md. March 18-20 to take on Towson, Mount St. Mary's and Villanova at Towson's Tiger Classic.
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