Travel Issues Turn Baseball Series at Saint Louis into Sunday Doubleheader

St. Louis, Mo. – The Fordham baseball team's travel plans for their Atlantic 10 series at Saint Louis hit a snag on Thursday, as due to weather and mechanical problems, the team's flight was cancelled.  Following a day dealing with airlines, the Rams have secured travel to Saint Louis on Saturday, so the three-game series has now turned into a two-game series with a Sunday doubleheader, beginning at 11:30 AM ET at the Billiken Sports Center.
 
Fordham enters the contest on a four-game win streak and 13-12 overall record with a 3-3 A-10 mark.  Saint Louis is 18-8 on the season with a 2-3 record in the conference.

PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Game 1 – RHP Reiss Knehr (2-2, 4.09) vs. RHP Jackson Wark (4-2, 4.55) // Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamBaseball
Game 2 – RHP Jimmy Murphy (2-4, 3.10) vs. RHP Miller Hogan (4-0, 1.64) // Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Saint Louis have met 21 times previously with the Billikens holding a 12-9 series edge.  Fordham has won each of the last four meetings with Saint Louis, including a win at last year's Atlantic 10 Championship.  However, the Billikens have won five straight games played on their home field in the series.
 
LAST TIME OUT: 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.
 
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.  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.
 
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.
 
WHO'S HOT: Senior Matthew Kozuch is batting .392 over his last 13 games, registering six runs scored and eight RBI… Freshman Jake Baker is hitting .355 in his last 11 games with 10 runs scored, four RBI, and four stolen bases… Senior Mark Donadio has a .300 average in his last 12 games with nine runs scored, four extra-base hits, and nine RBI… Graduate student Jimmy Murphy has a 0.81 ERA over 33.1 innings pitched in his last four starts with 38 strikeouts and a .148 opponent batting average… Freshman Alvin Melendez in 2-0 with two saves in his last five appearances with a 0.90 ERA and 10 strikeouts… Freshman Brandon Martin is 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA in his last five appearances… Freshman Kyle Martin has three wins and one save to go with a 1.54 ERA in his last seven appearances… In his last three starts, sophomore Reiss Knehr is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams next game is set for Tuesday, April 11^th at Siena, beginning at 4:00 PM.  Fordham then begins a three-game Atlantic 10 series against Saint Joseph's at Houlihan Park, April 13^th-15^th.