Baseball Hits Milestones in Doubleheader Sweep of NJIT

Bronx, N.Y. - It was a milestone day at Houlihan Park on Saturday, as the Fordham baseball team swept a doubleheader from NJIT by scores of 2-0 and 3-1, as the Rams earned three victories in the four-game series with the Highlanders.
 
With the sweep, Fordham improved to 11-13 overall, while NJIT fell to 8-15.
 
In game one, Fordham's Kirk Haynes, Jr. threw his first career shutout and tied a career-high with nine strikeouts, as the Rams earned a 2-0 victory.  The win was a milestone for head coach Kevin Leighton as it was his 100^th coaching victory at Fordham and his 300^th overall.
 
Fordham opened the scoring in the first inning, as Joseph Runco led off with a single and stole second.  After he moved to third on a balk, Runco scored on a ground out by Jason Lundy.
 
The scored stayed at 1-0 until the eighth inning, when Fordham added an insurance run.  Joseph DeVito opened the frame with a walk, and advanced to third on a ground out and a wild pitch.  After a walk to Lundy, Ryan McNally singled to left, scoring DeVito from third.
 
That was all the run support Kirk Haynes, Jr. (2-0) needed as he tossed his first career complete game shutout.  He allowed just three hits and one walk, while tying a career-high with nine strikeouts.  NJIT's Bryan Haberstroh took the loss, falling to 0-3, as he threw seven innings of two-hit ball, giving up just two runs with three strikeouts.
 
In game two, Fordham's Joseph Serrapica threw his second career complete game and had five strikeouts in a 3-1 win over the Highlanders in seven innings.
 
NJIT got on the board in the first on an RBI-double from Stefan Halibej, scoring Jesse Uttendorfer, who reached on a single.

 
The second major milestone for the Rams on Saturday also came in the first inning, as Runco led off with an infield single for his 200^th career hit, becoming the 14^th player in the 157 years of Fordham baseball to reach that plateau.  The hit also extended Runco's hit streak to 12 games, which is now a new career-long.
 
Though the Rams didn't capitalize on that milestone, they did rally for three runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead.  Fordham loaded the bases with no outs on a Luke Stampfl hit by pitch, a Matthew Kozuch single, and a Mark Donadio infield single.  The Highlanders got the next two outs, but Pat Gardner worked a walk to force in a run and tie the game.  Runco then slashed a two-run single to right center, scoring Kozuch and Donadio.
 
The scored remained at 3-1 behind a strong pitching effort by Fordham starter Joseph Serrapica.  In the seventh, he got in a touch of trouble, as the Highlanders had runners at second and third with one out.  NJIT's Evan Pietronico then hit a hard chopper back to the mound which Serrapica snagged out of the air and ran down the runner at third for the tag out.  Halibej followed with a fly out to right to end the game, giving Fordham the 3-1 victory.
 
Serrapica (1-4) earned the win, as he threw his second career complete game and tied a career-long outing by tossing seven innings and scattering seven hits with five strikeouts.  At the plate, Runco was 2-for-3 with a stolen base and two RBI, while Donadio also had a pair of hits.
 
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Tuesday, March 29^th, as the Rams travel to Albany to meet the Great Danes for a 3:00 PM game.