Baseball Uses Long Ball To Top Iona, 10-3

Bronx, N.Y. – Tuesday turned out to be a very special birthday for Fordham senior outfielder Jason Lundy, as he hit his first career home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to put Fordham on top for good, as the Rams defeated the Iona Gaels, 10-3, at Houlihan Park.
 
With the win, Fordham has now won four in a row, improving the team's record to 7-9, while Iona fell to 5-8.
 
Fordham got on the board right away in the bottom of the first inning.  Luke Stampfl connected on a two-out single to left and moved to third on a single by Matthew Kozuch.  Mark Donadio then slapped a single through the right side to score Stampfl from third.
 
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fifth, when Iona's Lou Matarazzo hit a three-run home run to left center, his third of the season, giving the Gaels a 3-1 edge.
 
The Rams cut into that lead in the sixth, when Reiss Knehr led off the inning with a solo home run to right, his second in as many games.
 
Fordham used another long ball to regain the lead in the seventh.  With two on and two out, Jason Lundy connected on a three-run home run to left for the first of his career, scoring Donadio and Justin Bardwell, who both reached base on walks.

 
The Rams piled on the offense in the eighth, scoring five times to extend the lead to 10-3.  After a leadoff double by Brian Goulard and a flyout, Iona went to the bullpen for relief, but didn't find any.  Ryan Preusee hit Kozuch with a pitch and then gave up a three-run home run to Donadio for his first of the season.  Fordham later received RBI-singles from Bardwell and Knehr for the 10-3 final score.
 
Fordham's Kyle Martin improved to 3-0 on the season, as he threw 2.1 innings of hitless relief, while striking out a season-high five batters.  Martin was one of six pitchers used on Tuesday, which began with Mike Cowell getting the start, throwing 1.2 innings of one-hit ball.  Anthony Zimmerman (0.2 IP, 1 K), Brian Weissert (1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R), Shane McDonald (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 K), and Alvin Melendez (1 IP, 1 H) rounded out the hurlers on Tuesday.
 
At the plate, Donadio was 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, and four RBI, while Knehr was 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.  Lundy finished 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
 
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Friday, March 24^th, as the Rams begin Atlantic 10 action at George Mason with a 3:00 PM start in Fairfax, Virginia.