Baseball Opens Conference Play This Weekend Against Richmond

The Fordham baseball team kicks off conference action this weekend, when the Rams host the Richmond Spiders for a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Houlihan Park.  Friday's opener is set for 7:00 PM, followed by a 2:00 PM start on Saturday, and a noon game on Sunday.  The Friday game time has been changed due rain in the forecast tomorrow afternoon.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – Fordham – RHP Kirk Haynes, Jr. (2-0, 1.93) vs. Richmond – RHP Keenan Bartlett (0-2, 6.92) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Saturday – Fordham – RHP Greg Weissert (0-3, 4.56) vs. Richmond – LHP Zach Grossfeld (3-1, 4.75) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Sunday – Fordham – RHP Ben Greenberg (3-1, 2.23) vs. Richmond – RHP Dan Martinson (4-1, 4.75) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
 
SERIES HISTORY:  The Rams and Spiders series history dates back to 1922, but the majority of the games have occurred since 2002, when Richmond joined the Atlantic 10.  Richmond holds an 18-13 edge in the all-time series, and the Spiders have won eight of the last nine meetings, which included sweeping a three-game series last year down in Newport News, Virginia.
 
LAST TIME OUT: 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.
 
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.

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.
 
HAYNES NAMED A-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK (3/28):  The Atlantic 10 Conference announces it weekly baseball awards on Monday, and Fordham junior pitcher Kirk Haynes, Jr. was selected as the conference's Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week.
 
Haynes continued his stellar pitching on Saturday against NJIT, when he tossed his first career complete game shutout against the Highlanders.  He allowed just three hits and a walk, while tying a career-high with nine strikeouts.  It was the first complete game shutout for the Rams since Brett Kennedy tossed a shutout at Rhode Island in April 2014.
 
WE'RE GOIN' STREAKING: Senior Joseph Runco takes a career-long 13-game hit streak into this weekend.  Over that stretch, Runco is batting .333 with 14 RBI and eight stolen bases… Graduate Student Ryan McNally is batting .323 over his last nine games with four extra-base hits and seven RBI… Freshman Justin Bardwell is hitting .318 in his last eight games with a pair of triples and three RBI… Junior pitcher Kirk Haynes, Jr. was lights out in his six appearances in the month of March.  He was 2-0 with a 1.03 ERA over 26.1 innings with 24 strikeouts…. Senior Joseph Serrapica has a 3.00 ERA over his last three appearances, posting 11 strikeouts over 12 innings… Sophomore Parker Barnell has a 1.29 ERA in his last four relief appearances.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Following this weekend's series with Richmond, Fordham begins a four-game road swing at Rutgers on April 6^th at 3:30 PM, before heading to Philadelphia for a three-game series at La Salle.