Softball Competes in Five-Day Florida Atlantic Tournament this Weekend

Tournament Central
Twitter Updates @FordhamSoftball
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (15-4) has one again received votes, six to be exact, in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, after sweeping five contests at last weekend's Homewood Suites by Hilton Invitational, hosted by North Carolina State. The Rams remain atop the Atlantic 10 standings are tied nationally with Oregon State for 34^th in the nation. This weekend, Fordham heads back to Florida for the Florida Atlantic Tournament, although its first two games, on Friday, March 10, will take place at Florida International in Miami. From Saturday to Tuesday, the Rams will play in Boca Raton.
 
Fans can follow all the action via the links above.
 
Last Time Out
Madison Shaw earned her second Atlantic 10 Player of the Week award of the season and was named Fastpitch News' Division I National Player of the Week for good reason: the junior slugger mashed four home runs, including two grand slams, and drove in 17 runs over three days, batting .538 on the weekend. The Rams defeated Lehigh once and both Rutgers and N.C. State twice each by a combined score of 53-19. In the tournament format, Fordham earned the #1 seed and went on to outscore its opponents on Saturday evening and on Sunday, Rutgers and the Wolfpack, respectively, by a combined 30-7 score, both via run-rule in the fifth inning. Jessica Hughes also continued her torrid start to the season, slashing .583/.737/1.333 with two more home runs, a double, a triple, a team-high seven walks, 10 runs, and four stolen bases in as many attempts. Freshman Madison Aughinbaugh earned her second straight Rookie of the Week nod with two wins and a 1.56 ERA across four appearances and one start, while Lauren Quense was touched up for a 4.47 ERA but still walked away with three more victories in four starts to move to 11-1 on the year.
 
Shaw and Aughinbaugh Scoop Up Weekly A-10 Awards
Another week, more A-10 honors for the Rams. This makes it four straight weeks with at least one player to be recognized by the conference and the third straight in which Fordham has garnered at least two awards. This week it's Madi Shaw regaining the Player honor from teammate Jessica Hughes, plus freshman Madi Aughinbaugh's seconds straight Rookie nod. You can read more about it, here.
 
Series History vs. This Weekend's Opponents
                - Fordham retook the all-time series lead, 4-3, with a pair of victories over Rutgers last weekend. The Rams defeated the Scarlet Knights by a combined score of 25-8 across two five-inning run-rule victories.
                - Florida International holds a 4-2 all-time series advantage since 2000 but the Rams have taken the last two contests, one each in 2009 and 2010 on neutral territory.
                - Fordham has faced Ball State just once: an 11-1 loss in 2010 at the Under Armour Invitational.
                - The Rams have never played Brown.
                - Fordham defeated Illinois State, 2-1, at the 2011 Diamond 9 Citrus Classic.
                - Fairfield holds an 11-4 all-time series advantage since 1985. The two schools have only met four times since the turn of the century, with the Rams taking three of the past four contests. They have not met since a 7-5 Fordham win in 2007 at the Aztec Classic in San Diego.
                - Fordham owns a 2-0 all-time record against Florida Atlantic since 2009. The Rams defeated the Owls, 5-2, on the road that year and, two years later, won again, 1-0, on neutral ground.
 
Quense Tosses 14^th No-Hitter in Program History
The senior hurler was lights out against Bryant on Sunday, February 19, tossing six innings of no-hit ball, allowing just a fourth-inning walk, plus a batter that reached on an error later in the contest, with three strikeouts. Quense became the fifth Ram to ever throw a no-hitter in program history. 
 
Keeping up with the Record Book
Amy Van Hoven recently became the seventh Ram to ever reach 200 hits and is currently fifth all-time with 215, while classmate Sydney Canessa reached the career milestone this past weekend with a double off the wall. Quense's excellent start to her senior campaign has seen her jump up several spots in the all-time pitching ranks. Jessica Hughes and Madison Shaw have vaulted to the top or near the top of the all-time batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage lists, while Hughes continues to climb the stolen base ranks, currently fifth and one behind Ivy Pollock with 47.
 
You can check out the record book, here.
 
Fordham Softball Archived Stories
It's been a very active first month for the Fordham softball team, including nine weekly A-10 awards, a no-hitter, and a 15-4 record through four weekends. You can read all of the team's archived stories from this season and beyond, here.
 
Fordham Quick Facts
You can find this season's full schedule, roster, and quick facts, plus last year's season statistics, all here.
 
Fordham Picked to Successfully Defend A-10 Title
The Rams received nine of 10 first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll, it was announced last week. Fordham has won four straight conference tournament titles and five of the last six, plus three regular season championships in the past six years, as well.
 
The Rams return all eight position player starters, losing only starting pitcher/DP Rachel Gillen. Second Teamer Lauren Quense returns for her senior campaign to anchor a staff that will include three freshmen. The Rams have six newcomers, five freshmen and one sophomore transfer, and will have one more underclassmen this season than upperclassmen.
 
Welcoming New Faces
The program welcomed six new players to the Bronx this season: pitchers Madison Aughinbaugh, Taylor Stocks, and Stephanie Rundlett, infielders Skylar Johnston and Brielle Cerchio, and outfielder Deanna Burbridge. You can read about the first four signing their NLIs last winter here. Aughinbaugh and Rundlett were named their respective states' Players of the Year. Head coach Bridget Orchard has also announced five recruits for the class of 2021 that have recently signed their NLIs.
 
Up Next
The preseason tournament schedule is over! Fordham will take a week off for spring break and return for two games in two days, first at Hofstra on Tuesday, March 21, and then the home opener against Iona the following day. Both games will begin at 3 p.m. Atlantic 10 play is not far beyond that, with Rhode Island traveling to the Bronx for a three-game set that weekend.