Baseball Travels to George Mason for A-10 Opening Weekend

Bronx, N.Y. – Winners of four straight, the Fordham baseball team is back on the road this weekend, as the Rams travel Fairfax, Virginia, to take on the George Mason Patriots for a three-game series to open Atlantic 10 play.  Fordham enters the contest at 7-9 overall, having won the last four contests, and allowing just five runs in those games.  George Mason is 7-13 on the year and has dropped four of its last five games.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
 
Friday – RHP Jimmy Murphy (1-3, 4.38) vs. RHP Tyler Zombro (0-3, 3.29) // Live Video (PPV) | Live Audio | Live Stats
Saturday – RHP Mike Cowell (0-1, 3.77) vs. LHP Brian Marconi (2-2, 4.21) // Live Video (PPV) | Live Audio | Live Stats
Sunday – RHP Reiss Knehr (2-2, 4.29) vs. RHP Zach Mort (1-2, 5.27) // Live Video (PPV) | Live Audio | Live Stats

SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and George Mason have met 11 times previously with the Patriots holding a 6-5 edge in the series.  The two teams last met in 2015, where Fordham won two of three games at Houlihan Park.  Prior to that, George Mason won two of three games in 2014 at Spuhler Field.  The first meeting between the two teams though dates back to March 30^th, 1968, when Fordham won both ends of a doubleheader, 1-0 and 12-2.
 
LAST TIME OUT: 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.
 
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. 

MURPHY NAMED A-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK (3/20) The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards winners on Monday with Fordham's Jimmy Murphy being named the Pitcher of the Week.  It is the first career accolade for Murphy.
 
Murphy had the most dominating start of his career, as he earned a 1-0 win over Sacred Heart.  He threw eight shutout innings, giving up just two doubles (one in the third and one in the fifth), while striking out a career-high 14 batters without walking any batters.  He broke his previous high of 11 strikeouts, set on March 5th against Canisius.  The 14 strikeouts were also the most by a Ram pitcher since Javier Martinez had 14 strikeouts against Temple in April 2006.
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams are at Saint Peter's on Tuesday, March 28^th for a 3:30 PM contest, which will be followed by a three-game Atlantic 10 series against La Salle, March 31^st – April 2^nd at Houlihan Park.