Softball Hosts Massachusetts to Open Conference Play

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (15-14) kicks off its Atlantic 10 conference schedule with a three-game series against the rival Minutewomen of the University of Massachusetts (6-16). Originally scheduled for 11 a.m., the first contest will now begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 25, with the Saturday doubleheader, beginning at 11 a.m., as originally scheduled.
 
This match-up is the 60^th all-time meeting between Massachusetts and Fordham. The Minutewomen hold a 45-14 advantage although the Rams have won seven straight. In the Bronx, the Rams are 5-21 against UMass.

Fordham's next victory will be the program's 700^th.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham finished its out-of-conference slate with the Towson Tiger Classic and two games against the hosts and two against Mount St. Mary's. The Rams enjoyed two shortened contests last Friday afternoon, a 12-3 win over Towson in six innings and a 13-5 victory over the Mount in five, before see their eight-game winning streak snapped in a 7-6 loss to the Tigers. Fordham rebounded with an 8-0 shutout of the Mountaineers in the finale in six innings.
 
Lindsay Mayer's two-run home run in the third inning of game one turned out to the be eventual game winner. The top of the order in front of Mayer, Jessica Hughes, Amy Van Hoven, and Sydney Canessa, combined for a 7-for-11 day at the plate with five RBIs and seven runs scored.
 
In game two against Mount St. Mary's, the Rams jumped out to a 3-0 lead before their opponents mounted a five-run rally in the third inning. Fordham answered with five of their own, including Chelsea Skrepenak's first career home run, and the Rams added five more to enable the eight-run mercy rule, with Fordham "walking off" on a wild pitch that sored Van Hoven.
 
The loss to Towson was also of the walk-off variety with Kim Smith blasting a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. Earlier, Fordham had rallied to tie the game with three runs to tie the game up at seven apiece. Mayer made her first career start in the circle.
 
Fordham started a new winning streak with its 8-0 victory over the Mountaineers, walking off on a Cailin Winokur hit by pitch in the sixth inning. Lauren Quense went the distance for the Rams with six innings of two-hit ball. The junior also walked three and struck out four in her third career shutout and moved to 6-5 with the result.
 
Scouting Massachusetts
The Minutewomen enter the weekend losers of nine of their previous 11 contests during which the team participated in the FAU Parents' Weekend Tournament against nationally-ranked Minnesota, Mercer and Rutgers, plus the Maryland Invitational against Ball State, Binghamton and North Dakota State. The name you'll likely to see most often in the circle is Meg Colleran. The sophomore has a solid 2.48 era on the season but a 5-10 record in 18 appearances. In 101.2 innings, she has allowed 102 hits while striking out 48.
 
The Massachusetts offense has struggled this season, with a .234 team average, but finds success in three players at the top of the order: Erin Stacevicz, Jena Cozza, and Taylor Carbone. Stacevicz paces the team with a .369 batting average from atop the lineup with a team-high 24 hits. Carbone bats second and is hitting .291 on the season with a team-high 14 RBIs and 13 walks. Cozza is the team's leader in runs with 17 and home runs with two.
 
Rams Earn Two More Weekly Conference Awards
Fordham, fresh off sweeping the Atlantic 10 weekly awards (Van Hoven – Player, Quense – Pitcher, Hughes – Co-Rookie), has again garnered attention in the conference for its recent success. Hughes has again won the Rookie of the Week award, while Sydney Canessa earned her second career Player of the Week award.
 
Hughes has batted .485 over the last 10 contests with a team-high 17 runs and eight stolen bases, and has hit safely in the last nine. In fact, Hughes' next stolen base (she has 15 already on the season) would tie her with Van Hoven and two others for 10^th most in a single season in program history.
 
Canessa, meanwhile, continues to amass stats with a .400 average, 11 runs, three home runs, and a team-high 14 RBIs from the three spot over the last two weeks. The junior isn't shy on the basepaths, either, as she also stole six bags over that time, just one shy of her mark over her first two seasons on the team.
 
Up Next
The Rams travel to Iona for a nonconference doubleheader in New Rochelle next Wednesday, March 31. Game one is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.