Photo Gallery
Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham baseball team knew a win on Field Trip Day on Thursday afternoon meant securing that all-important spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship. In front of over 500 local school children, the Rams doubled their pleasure, sweeping a doubleheader from the Dayton Flyers, 4-2 and 8-2, clinching a berth in next week's tournament, which will be held at Houlihan Park.
With the sweep, Fordham improved to 28-26 on the season, 14-9 in the Atlantic 10, while Dayton fell to 18-36 on the year, 7-16 in the conference.
In game one, Fordham started the scoring in the second inning, as
Mark Donadio led off with an infield single and scored on an RBI-triple from
Luke Stampfl.
Ryan Mahoney then plated Stampfl with an RBI-ground out.
Dayton then tied the game at two on a Fordham error in the third inning. With runners at second and third and two outs, Aaron Huesman hit a pop up in front of second base. Fordham shortstop
Joseph DeVito lost the ball in the sun, forcing
Joseph Runco to come over from second. Runco was unable to hold onto to the pop up, allowing two runs to score and tie the game.
Greg Weissert struck out nine batters on Thursday.
Runco made up for the error in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he led off the inning with a solo home run to left field, his second of the season.
The Rams added to the lead in the seventh, when Mahoney double to left center and scored on a single to left by
Jason Lundy, making it a 4-2 game.
From there, Fordham reliever
Reiss Knehr shut the door, tossing three innings of hitless relief with five strikeouts to earn his second save of the season. Fordham starter
Greg Weissert improved to 5-3 on the year, as he allowed two unearned runs on three hits with nine strikeouts over six innings of work.
At the plate, Stampfl led the attack, going 3-for-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Runco was 1-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base.
Game two started the same way as game one with Fordham striking first. The Rams plated three runs in the first inning off Dayton starter Zach Beaver for a 3-0 edge.
Matthew Kozuch led off the game with an infield single and moved to second on a ground out. After a strikeout, Donadio plated Kozuch with an RBI-single to right. After a stolen base and a walk,
Justin Bardwell and
Ian Edmiston connected on back-to-back RBI-singles for the three-run lead.
The Flyers closed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the fourth, when Sam Sustersic connected on a two-run home run to left, his third of the year.
Joseph Serrapica struck out seven to earn his fifth win of the year.
The Rams answered back with a four-run fifth inning to extend the lead to 7-2. Runco started the frame with a triple to center and scored on a double by Donadio. Bardwell later singled home Donadio and then moved to third on a ground rule double by Edmiston. Following a pitching change, Lundy lined a two-run single to right for the four-run lead.
Fordham closed the scoring in the eighth inning, as
Pat Gardner came up with an RBI-single to right, after singles from DeVito and
Ryan McNally.
That run support was more than enough for the pitching combination of
Joseph Serrapica and
Ben Greenberg. Serrapica (5-5) recorded his fifth win of the season, as he allowed two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over five innings of work, while Greenberg got his first save of the season, pitching four innings of one-hit relief with two strikeouts.
At the plate, Donadio was 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, two RBI, and a stolen base, while Bardwell was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Lundy also had two RBI in the game with DeVito and Edmiston each having a pair of hits.
The same two teams will wrap up their series with a noon game on Friday, as it will be Senior Day at Houlihan Park. Those ceremonies will take place prior to the game, between 11:40 AM and 11:45 AM.
Plenty of local school children were here for Field Trip Day at Houlihan Park.
