Softball Completes Weekend Sweep of Rhode Island

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team made it three straight shutouts to begin Atlantic 10 conference play with a 9-0 run-rule victory, its third straight five-inning win, as well, over the Rhode Island Rams on Sunday afternoon at Bahoshy Field. With the win, the Fordham Rams improve to 23-7 on the year and 3-0 to begin league play, while the Rhode Island Rams fall to 2-18 and 0-3.
 
"Great start to the A-10 season and really exciting to see the way the team clicked and put it all together this weekend," Head coach Bridget Orchard said, "We had big performances out of so many players. All three pitchers throwing shutouts was impressive and the defense played well. We hit from top to bottom and everyone contributed, which led to so many runs."
 
Freshman Taylor Stocks' first career shutout capped off a terrific weekend in the circle for Rams pitchers, tossing five two-hit innings with no walks and a season-high five strikeouts. Stocks picked up her third win and lowered her ERA down to 2.05.
 
Fordham loaded the bases right away in the first inning against Julia Waraksy, Jessica Hughes drawing a five-pitch walk, Sydney Canessa driving a ball up the middle for a single, and Amy Van Hoven laying down a perfect bunt for a hit. However, the Rams would only be able to score Hughes from third, on a Madison Shaw's sacrifice fly, as Lindsay Mayer and Lauren Quense both popped up to end the threat.
 
The offense would break out for five runs in the third; Van Hoven smacked an opposite-way double to left center to score Canessa from second right off the bat and, later, another run on a Chelsea Skrepenak RBI single through the left side with the bases again loaded. The next batter, Skylar Johnston, pinch hit for Stocks and roped a bases-clearing double to right center to put her team up six. The Rams would post three more in the fourth to force the run rule, two coming on a Shaw single to right field and the final run coming shortly thereafter when Skrepenak ripped her own double to left center to score Shaw.
 
For the series, the team compiled a .426/.554/.820 slash line with 26 hits and 19 walks (to six strikeouts), six home runs and 32 runs driven in. Van Hoven led the way with a .714 average on a team-high five hits, plus three walks, scoring six times and stealing five bases in five attempts, also driving in four. Eight Rams batted .400 or better for the series. Pitching-wise, the three pitchers combined for just eight hits allowed in 15 innings, with three walks and 12 strikeouts, all complete game shutouts.
 
The three wins bring Orchard closer to her 700^th career victory, currently with 697 across 20 seasons. Today was Orchard's 568^th in the Bronx.

The series shutout, 34-0, is the third time the program has shut out an opponent over a three-game series. The two previous times both came in 2015, with shutouts against Saint Joseph's at home and at George Mason to finish the regular season. For most of the its history, the Atlantic 10 has opted for a two-game series format, with the exception coming in 2001 and 2002, the latter being Coach Orchard's first season in the Bronx. The league officially brought back the three-game series format beginning with the 2015 season.

Fordham is back in action with two nonconference contests on Tuesday and Wednesday. First, the Rams will travel to Seton Hall on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. clash in New Jersey, and then host Stony Brook on Wednesday at Bahoshy Field at 2 p.m.