Bronx, N.Y. – The annual Battle of Bronx kicked off the home slate for the Fordham baseball team on Wednesday, as they took on the Manhattan Jaspers for two seven-inning games at Houlihan Park. Battle proved to be a good term for the day, as Fordham rallied from a 3-0 deficit in game one to eventually win the opener 8-4 on a walk-off grand slam home run by
Luke Stampfl, while in the nightcap, the another Fordham rally fell short with a 4-2 Jaspers' win.
With the split, Fordham is 3-9 on the year, while Manhattan is 2-7.
In game one, Fordham fell behind 3-0 in the fourth inning as the Jaspers got a bases loaded walk to Adam Genners and a two-run ground-rule double by Brendan Bisset.
The Rams then chipped away at the deficit. Scoring once in the fifth and twice in the sixth to knot the game at three. In the fifth with a runner at second,
Alvin Melendez lined a single to center, where the ball bounced off the centerfielder's glove, allowing
Matthew Kozuch to score. Then in the sixth,
Luke Stampfl led off with a single to left and moved to second on a groundout.
Mark Donadio followed with a single to center, scoring Stampfl. After a pitching change,
Ryan Mahoney and Kozuch connected on back-to-back singles to load the bases. Melendez then hit into a fielder's choice which allowed Donadio to score from third and tie the game.
The slated seven-inning contest turned into an extra-inning affair with Manhattan regaining the lead at 4-3 on an RBI-single by Fabian Pena.
However, the Rams had one more rally in them in the bottom of the frame. Kozuch led off with a double to left center with
Billy Godrick drawing a walk. After a sacrifice bunt,
Reiss Knehr was then walk to load the bases. Manhattan pitcher Shawn Kanwisher then uncorked a wild pitch that got by Pena, allowing Kozuch to score from third.
Brian Goulard then re-loaded the bases with a walk, bringing Stampfl to the plate. The hottest hitter in the Rams' lineup didn't disappoint, as Stampfl connected on a grand slam home run to left for the second walk-off win of the season for Fordham.
For Fordham, Stampfl was 2-for-5 with the grand slam and two runs scored, while Kozuch was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. On the mound,
Kyle Martin (1-0) earned his first collegiate win in relief, allowing one run on three hits in two innings of work.
Brandon Martin got the start, as he threw three scoreless innings, while
Shane McDonald tossed 3.1 innings of one-hit relief with three strikeouts.
In game two, Manhattan built up a 3-0 lead in the fourth on a two-run triple from Jason Patnick and an RBI-single by Alex Cerda. Cerda then made it 4-0 in favor of the Jaspers with an RBI-double in the sixth.
Shane McDonald
Fordham had a tough time with Manhattan pitcher Marc Galvan, as he gave up just one hit, an infield single to
Jake Baker, through the first six innings. The Rams would break up the shutout and get the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh. After two strikeouts to start the inning, Stampfl lined a shot to center that Evan Brown dove for and missed, allowing Stampfl to round the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Donadio continued things with a single to right and moved to second on a wild pitch. Mahoney then laced an RBI-triple to left center to score Donadio, cutting the deficit to 4-2. The rally would stop there though as Galvan got Kozuch to ground out to short to end the game.
Brian Weissert (0-2) was hooked for the loss, allowing three runs on three hits in 3.2 innings of work with three strikeouts.
Anthony Zimmerman,
Alexander Hernandez, and
Jake Bernardo finished out the game, combining for the final 3.1 innings, allowing one total run.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Saturday, March 11
th, as they host UMass Lowell for a doubleheader at noon to start a three-game series.
