Albany, N.Y. – Behind a 16-hit barrage, which included a career-high four from junior
Pat Gardner, the Fordham baseball team won its third straight contest on Wednesday with a 9-3 victory over the Albany Great Danes at Varsity Field in Albany, N.Y.
With the win, Fordham improved to 12-13 on the year, while Albany fell to 8-13.
The Great Danes opened the scoring right away in the first, getting a run on two infield singles and a fielder's choice Matt Hinchy.
Fordham answered back with two runs in the second to grab the lead.
Mark Donadio started the frame with a single up the middle, while
Luke Stampfl reached on an error. After a sacrifice and a strikeout,
Joseph DeVito poked a double over the right fielder's head to score both runners.
The Rams added to the lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Ryan Mahoney drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a DeVito sacrifice bunt. After a single by Pat Garnder moved Mahoney to third,
Joseph Runco plated Mahoney with a sacrifice fly to center for a 3-1 lead.
Joe DeVito had three hits and three RBI on Wednesday Fordham then added two more runs in the sixth for a 5-1 edge.
Ian Edmiston started the inning with a triple down the left field line and scored on a single by DeVito.
Pat Gardner followed with his second single of the game, putting runners at the corners with one. Runco then fouled out the catcher, with Gardner tagging up at first. The Albany catcher threw down to second, which allowed DeVito to tag up from third and score on the play.
The Rams continued to pour on the offense, scoring three times in the seventh and once in the eighth for a 9-1 lead. Fordham got an RBI-single from Gardner and a two-run single by Runco in the seventh, while Stampfl delivered an RBI-single in the eighth.
The Great Danes capped the scoring with two runs in the eighth for the 9-3 final.
For Fordham, Stampfl (1-0) got the win, allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts over the first three innings of the game.
Ryan Davis,
Ryan Remo, and
Jimmy Murphy each pitched a scoreless inning of relief with
Parker Barnell tossing a career-long three innings, allowing one earned run on three hits.
Gardner led the offense with his first career four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with an RBI, while DeVito was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. Edmiston went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored with Runco adding two hits, three RBI and a stolen base, extending his personal-best hit streak to 13 games.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Friday, April 1
st, when the Rams host Richmond for their Atlantic 10 conference opener at Houlihan Park, beginning at 4:00 PM.
