Bronx, N.Y. – Behind some early offense and some solid pitching, the Fordham baseball team swept a doubleheader against the Saint Peter's Peacocks, 5-2 and 7-5, at Houlihan Park on Wednesday.
With the sweep, Fordham extended its win streak to four games, tying a season-high, and improved its record to 13-12 on the year, while Saint Peter's fell to 0-11.
In game one, Fordham jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, taking advantage of two Saint Peter's errors.
Matthew Kozuch led off with a double, extending his hit streak to 12 games. After an error allowed
Jake Baker to reach, Kozuch and Baker pulled off a double steal to put runners at second and third.
Justin Bardwell then doubled down the left field line to score both runners. After another error moved Bardwell to third, he scored on a ground out by
Matt Tarabek.
The Peacocks chipped away at the Fordham lead, cutting the lead to 3-2 with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but Fordham regained its three-run edge in the sixth. Tarabek connected on a ground rule double to left center, which was followed by a two-run home run to left by
Reiss Knehr, his third of the season.
Shane McDonald then closed the seven-inning contest with a pair of strikeouts, as he earned his first save of the season with two innings of hitless relief.
Brian Weissert (1-2) earned the win, pitching the first two innings of the game without allowing a run.
Marc Bisogno also threw two innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit, while
Parker Barnell allowed one run in his one inning of work.
Shane McDonald earned his first save in game one.
At the plate,
Alvin Melendez was the lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-3, while Bardwell and Knehr each had a hit, a run scored, and two RBI.
In game two, Fordham again jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the second inning. With one out,
Billy Godrick drew a walk and stole second and third.
Pat Gardner then blooped a single to center to score Godrick.
Justin Machado followed that with a two-run home run to left field for his first career home run.
The Rams extended the lead to 6-0 in the fourth on an RBI-single by Baker, an RBI-ground out by Kozuch, and an RBI-triple by
Mark Donadio.
Saint Peter's though would score twice in the fifth on a two-run home run by Nick Ciocco, and three times in the sixth to pull within one at 6-5.
Fordham responded with a single run in the bottom of the sixth, as Machado drew a walk, moved to second on a balk, and scored on a single by Melendez.
Brandon Martin earned his third win on Wednesday.
Kyle Martin made the 7-5 lead hold up, as he registered his first career save in the seven-inning contest. He threw two innings of one-hit relief with three strikeouts.
Brandon Martin (3-0) earned the win, as he threw the opening two innings without allowing a hit and added two strikeouts.
Alex Hladik and
Anthony Zimmerman each threw a scoreless inning of relief, while
Alexander Hernandez allowed two runs in his one inning of work.
At the plate, Machado was 2-for-2 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI, while Donadio was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and an RBI.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Friday, April 7
th, when the Rams travel to Saint Louis to start a three-game Atlantic 10 series with the Billikens with game time set for 7:00 PM ET (6:00 PM local time).
