Amherst, Mass. – The Fordham baseball team concluded its three-game series with the Massachusetts Minutemen on Saturday, splitting a doubleheader at Earl Lorden Field in Amherst, Massachusetts. UMass won the first game in a wild finish, 8-7, while Fordham shut out the Minutemen, 5-0, in game two.
With the split, Fordham is now 23-23 on the year, 9-6 in the Atlantic 10, while Massachusetts moved to 13-20 overall, 6-9 in the league.
Fordham struck first in game one, scoring twice in the second inning. After
Justin Bardwell reached on an error,
Mark Donadio connected on a one-out single through the right side to put runners at first and second. After an out,
Jason Lundy lined a single to left to score Bardwell from second for the Rams' first run. On the play, the leftfielder also overran the ball, allowing Donadio to score on the play as well.
The Minutemen answered with three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead. After picking up a run on a ground out to short, UMass got a single by Mike Hart and a two-run home run to left from John Jennings for the 3-2 lead.
UMass added to their lead with two runs in the fifth for a 5-2 edge, picking up an RBI-double by Jennings and an RBI-single by Mike Geannelis.
Fordham then rallied for five runs in the top of the sixth to re-gain the lead at 7-5. Bardwell was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to third on a ground-rule double by
Luke Stampfl. Donadio then singled to center, scoring both runners, and advanced to second on the throw home.
Ryan Mahoney followed with a two-run blast to right field for his second home run of the season, giving Fordham the lead. After a pitching change, Lundy reached on an infield single and was sacrificed to second by
Joseph DeVito.
Matthew Kozuch then plated Lundy with a single through the right side.
The lead didn't last long as the Minutemen tied the game at seven in the bottom of the sixth. Jon Avallone drew a walk to open the inning and scored on a double by Brett Evangelista. That hit ended Fordham starter
Greg Weissert's day, bringing in
Reiss Knehr from the bullpen. The Minutemen would draw two walks and get a wild pitch to score a run and knot the game at seven.
The score remained that way until the ninth, as the Minutemen loaded the bases with one out, bringing Avallone to the plate. Avallone hit a hot shot to the mound that Knehr knocked down and threw home from his knees, getting the force out for the second out. However, the second pitch to the next batter went wild to the backstop, allowing the winning run to score.
Knehr (1-1) took the loss, allowing one run on two hits over 3.2 innings of relief. Weissert went the first five innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits with two strikeouts. At the plate, Donadio tied a career-high going 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and two RBI, while Kozuch was 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Lundy was also 2-for-4 with an RBI with Bardwell scoring twice.
Game two started the same way game one did with Fordham scoring first. Kozuch drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by
Joseph Runco.
Matthew Kozuch
The Rams extended the lead to 2-0 in the second. Mahoney reached base on an infield single and moved to second on a throwing error. After moving to third on a ground out, Mahoney scored on a double to right by Kozuch.
Fordham added to the lead in the seventh with another run courtesy of Kozuch. Lundy reached on a bunt single and moved to second on a throwing error. He moved to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kozuch.
The Rams made it 5-0 in the eighth using the long ball, as Stampfl pounded a two-run home run to left center, his fourth of the season, scoring Bardwell who drew a walk.
The five runs was more than enough for Fordham starting pitcher
Joseph Serrapica (3-4), who had a career day. He threw a career-long eight innings, giving up just three hits and tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts. He faced just three batters over the minimum.
Jimmy Murphy closed out the game with a scoreless ninth to complete the shutout.
At the plate, Runco and Mahoney each had a pair of hits in the game, while Kozuch and Stampfl each drove in two runs.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Friday, May 6
th, when the Rams open a three-game Atlantic 10 series against the George Washington Colonials, beginning at 6:00 PM. It'll be Little League Night, where the Rams invite all little league and youth baseball teams to the game.
