Baseball Takes on Manhattan in Lone Mid-Week Match-Up

After their fourth straight Atlantic 10 series win, the Fordham baseball team continues its eight-game road trip on Tuesday, when the Rams take on the Manhattan College Jaspers in the second edition of the "Battle of the Bronx" this season.  The game is set for 6:30 PM at Duchess County Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y.
 
Fordham (22-20, 8-4 A10) has won each of its first four conference series, taking two out of three games in each instance, marking the first time Fordham has accomplished that feat as a member of the Atlantic 10.  Manhattan (12-24, 4-8 MAAC) is coming off a 2-2 week, where they dropped two of three games at Quinnipiac.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Fordham – RHP Ryan Remo (2-2, 4.07) vs. Manhattan - RHP Ryan Takacs (0-3, 9.78) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats
 
SERIES HISTORY: Tuesday's game will be the 114^th edition of the Battle of the Bronx since a 1923 match-up at Yankee Stadium.  Fordham holds a 79-31-3 leads in the series since that game, which includes a 12-3 win by the Rams back on March 8^th.  Each squad won its home contest last year, as the Rams topped the Jaspers, 6-1, at Houlihan Park, while Manhattan pulled off a 14-13 win over Fordham in Fishkill, N.Y.
 
In the earlier meeting this year, Luke Stampfl hit a grand slam home run, while Ben Greenberg threw five innings of six-hit ball as Fordham won by nine at Houlihan Park.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Fordham relief pitcher Jimmy Murphy held off a valiant comeback effort by the Davidson Wildcats, pitching two scoreless innings of relief, as the Rams closed out a 7-4 win at Wilson Field on Sunday.
 
With the win, Fordham improved to 22-20 on the season, 8-4 in the Atlantic 10, while Davidson fell to 21-19 on the season, 8-7 in the league.  It also marked the first time that Fordham has won its first four Atlantic 10 series, since joining the league in 1996.
 
For the third straight game, Davidson got the opening run of the game, going up 1-0 in the first inning on an RBI-ground out by Lee Miller, scoring Jake Sidwell, who reached on a single.
 
Fordham answered with two runs in the second for a 2-1 edge.  Justin Bardwell was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Mark Donadio reached on an error.  After a sacrifice bunt, Ian Edmiston lined a single to left to score Bardwell.  Donadio then scored a safety squeeze bunt by Joseph DeVito.
 
The score remained that way until the fifth, when Davidson knotted the game at two.  Sidwell drew a walk and moved to third on a single by Sam Foy.  After a pitching change, Miller singled up the middle to score Sidwell from third.
 
The Rams regained the lead in the top of the sixth with a four-run rally and a 6-2 edge.  DeVito opened with a single through the left side and Joseph Runco reached on a bunt single.  Ryan McNally then connected on a three-run home run to left, his team-leading ninth of the season.   Matthew Kozuch, who made his return to the Rams' lineup yesterday, continued the inning with his career-high fourth hit of the game and was sacrificed to second by Luke Stampfl.  Bardwell followed with a single up the middle to score Kozuch from second.

 
Fordham extended the lead to 7-2 in the eighth, as Runco walked, stole second, moved to third on a ground ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kozuch.  The stolen base was the 85^th of Runco's career, moving him into a tie with Danny Leach (2005-09) for third on Fordham's all-time list.
 
Davidson then rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth, scoring runs on a wild pitch and a double by Sidwell.  Fordham reliever Jimmy Murphy then came in from the bullpen, and immediately caught a line drive and doubled off the runner at second base for a double play.  Later, a line drive hit Murphy in the leg, but he still managed to make the throw to first and end the inning.
 
Murphy then closed out the game with two fly outs and a ground out to clinch the win for Fordham.
 
For Fordham, Reiss Knehr (1-0) earned his first collegiate win in relief, allowing two hits and two walks over 1.2 innings of work.  Murphy recorded his fourth save of the season with two innings of one-hit relief.  Starter Joseph Serrapica went the first 4.1 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Kozuch was a career-best 4-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Bardwell was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.  Runco added two runs scored and a stolen base with McNally having a home run and three RBI.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKIN': Graduate student Ryan McNally has a .311 batting average in the month of April (19-61) with 16 runs scored, six doubles, four home runs, and 17 RBI… Freshman Justin Bardwell is batting .310 (18-58) in April with four doubles and eight RBI… Junior Mark Donadio is hitting .303 (20-66) in April with 10 runs scored and 14 RBI… Senior Joseph Serrapica is 1-0 with a save and a 1.33 ERA in his last six outings, posting 25 strikeouts in 20.1 innings… Senior Jimmy Murphy has a 1-1 record with four saves and 0.56 ERA in 16.0 innings with 13 strikeouts… Junior Greg Weissert is 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in his last four starts with 27 strikeouts in 25.1 innings… Freshman Reiss Knehr has a 0.00 ERA in his last eight appearances, recording a win and 12 strikeouts in 14.2 innings of work.
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams finish their eight-game road swing with a weekend series in Amherst, Massachusetts, when the Rams take on the Massachusetts Minutemen, April 29 - May 1.  Game times are 3:00 PM on Friday and 1:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.