Softball Sweeps Saint Louis Doubleheader on Alumni Day

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team continued its torrid pace in conference play with another doubleheader sweep, this time at home against the visiting Saint Louis Bilikens, to make it 11 straight Atlantic 10 victories in a row and 23 in the team's last 25. The Rams were victorious, 3-0, in game one behind a Lauren Quense one-hit shutout, and, 12-1, in game two in a wild, hit and error-filled contest. Fordham moves to 29-15 (12-1) on the season, while the Bilikens fall to 16-23 (6-7) overall.
 
Quense fired her fourth shutout of the season, and her second one-hitter, to garner her 12^th victory. She struggled with control at times and walked a season-high five batters, but consistently worked out of trouble. Brianna Lore took the loss, moving to 8-12 this year, with 3.2 innings of three-run ball, nine hits and two walks allowed, with four strikeouts. Maddie  Baalman entered in the fourth inning and allowed just a hit and a walk in 2.1 scoreless innings.
 
As has been the case many times this season, Jessica Hughes started the game off by getting on base, this time with a hard-hit single to left, and stealing second. The theft moved Hughes, a freshman, into the career top-10 with 26. The Sewell, N.J. native would also swipe another base later in the fourth inning to move her into a temporary tie with teammate Amy Van Hoven and former Ram Jocelyn Dearborn for ninth-most all-time with 27. Van Hoven wasted no time in escaping that three-way tie by singling as the next batter, moving Hughes to third, and stealing second herself for her 10^th of the season and 28^th of her career. Hughes' 27 are just two behind Lindsey Kay Bright's single season record of 29, set in 2009.
 
With Hughes on second in the first inning, Van Hoven reached on an infield single and Sydney Canessa laid down a perfect bunt that loaded the bases with nobody out. Lindsay Mayer, the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, provided the eventual game winner with a single through the right side to score Hughes. Madison Shaw will feel unlucky as her hard-hit ball went straight to the shortstop, who doubled up Mayer at first. Rachel Gillen, returning to action after two weeks out, singled home Van Hoven to put the Rams up two.
 
Chelsea Skrepenak's opposite-field solo home run, her second of the year, put the cap on the game's offense in the fourth. Quense allowed her only hit of the game in the fifth inning, a bunt single, and eventually escaped a minor jam with a runner in scoring position and one out. The Rams threatened in the fifth with runners on second and third and out one but Baalman worked out of it.
 
Hughes, Van Hoven, and Mayer all had two hits on the day. Hughes also walked twice. The Rams had 10 hits but stranded nine runners.
 
Game two was a five inning affair that featured 12 Fordham runs on 10 hits and five Saint Louis errors. Lindsay Mayer was chosen by head coach Bridget Orchard to start her second game of the year and she responded with just one unearned run allowed on two hits in five innings. The junior also walked four and struck out five. However three of the four walks came in the first inning.
 
Saint Louis' Mackenzie Peter walked to start the game and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Both Elizabeth Everingham and Brianna Lore walked to load the bases but Mayer reached back and struck out Allie Macfarlane on three straight pitches and induced a fly out to Canessa to end the frame. Like in game one, the Rams put the eventual winning run across the plate in the first inning. Hughes dropped in a base hit along the right field line and advanced to second on a Van Hoven groundout. Canessa smacked a booming double to right center to score the freshman, who served as the designated player in the second game, and scored herself after a passed ball and a Mayer sacrifice fly.
 
The Bilikens plated their lone run of the day in the second inning. Hailey Weavers singled to left center and Madeline Brungardt dropped a single into shallow left with one out. Van Hoven's error in the field allowed Weavers to score from second with two outs.
 
Allie Bradian reached to start the bottom of the frame on a throwing error by the shortstop Alyssa Tarquinio and scored two pitches later when Ally Vergona roped a ground-rule double to right center. Skrepenak singled and stole second to put both runners in scoring position and both scored when Morgan Figueroa hit a high chopper over the head of the pitcher Laney Kneib and into the outfield, 5-1. Tarquinio committed two more throwing errors in the frame, first allowing Hughes to reach first and then on a one-out chopper by Canessa that allowed both Hughes and Figueroa to score. Mayer's team-leading 11^th double scored Canessa easily.
 
A four-run third inning would cap the day's offense, highlighted by Madi Shaw's two-out bases-clearing double to left center. Skrepenak singled to shortstop to start the frame and Figueroa reached on an error by Kneib. Van Hoven singled to shallow left center to load the bases with one out and Canessa made it two outs with a sacrifice fly. Mayer walked to re-load the bases and Shaw unloaded on a 2-2 pitch to deep left center.
 
Mayer picks up her fifth win of the season with the effort and is now 5-0 on the year. Kneib allowed eight runs, just three earned, in 1.1 innings on six hits. Baalman pitched in relief again and all four of her runs were unearned over 2.2 frames.
 
The Fordham offense again tallied 10 hits and stranded six runners. Van Hoven and Skrepenak each had two hits, while Hughes, Canessa, Skrepenak, and Figueroa all crossed home plate twice apiece.
 
The Rams and Bilikens finish out the series tomorrow at 12 p.m. The contest will again be streamed live on the A-10 Digital Network and on WFUVSports.org. Tomorrow is also Youth Softball Day at Bahoshy Field and all youth softball players are encouraged to come out and participate in activities and an autograph session with the team. Admission is free for all.