Hempstead, N.Y. – If the Fordham baseball team was going to snap their nine-game losing streak on Tuesday, the Rams were going to need something special to happen. Well, after no extra-base hits through his first 32 games, freshman
Jake Baker picked a great time for his first, connecting on a pinch-hit three-run home run in the top of the ninth to give Fordham a 7-4 win over the Hofstra Pride at University Field in Hempstead, N.Y.
With the win, Fordham snapped their nine-game slide, improving to 19-22 on the season, while Hofstra fell to 11-31.
Fordham started off the game with a bang, taking a 1-0 lead in the first, as
Mark Donadio connected on an opposite field, solo home run to right center for his second of the season.
The Rams extended the lead to 2-0 in the second inning.
Reiss Knehr led off with a bunt single and was sacrificed to second by
Pat Gardner. After a walk to
Billy Godrick,
Matthew Kozuch lined a single just over the shortstop into left field, allowing Knehr to score.
Hofstra knotted the game at two in the bottom of the second, picking up an RBI-groundout by Chris Hardardt and an RBI-single from Steven Foster.
Fordham regained the lead, scoring once in the third and fourth innings to go up, 4-2. In the third,
Justin Bardwell drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a single by
Ryan Mahoney. Knehr then roped to double to right center, scoring Bardwell, but Mahoney would be thrown out at the plate, trying to score from first. Then, in the fourth, Godrick singled through the right side, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by Kozuch.
Billy Godrick
The Pride rallied right back to tie the game at four in the bottom of the fourth. Hofstra plated the first run on an error and then got a bases loaded single by Vito Friscia to tie the game. Fordham reliever
Mike Cowell though held the score at 4-4, as he picked off Friscia at first and got a groundout to short to end the inning.
The score stayed that way until the ninth, when Fordham went back ahead, 7-4. Mahoney reached on a one-out error, while
Matt Tarabek reached on an infield single to the left side. Pinch-hitter
Jake Baker then blasted a three-run home run to right for his first career home run to give the Rams the lead.
Shane McDonald (1-1) closed out the win with three scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts and did not allow a hit. Starter
Marc Bisogno went the first two innings, allowing two runs on five hits, while
David Wright went 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits. Cowell went 2.2 innings of hitless relief to wrap up the Fordham pitching line.
At the plate, Kozuch was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base, while Donadio was 2-for- 5 with a home run and a stolen base. Knehr was 2-for-2 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI with Mahoney, Tarabek, and Godrick each having two hits.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Friday, May 5, when the Rams begin a three-game series with the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds at Houlihan Park. Game time is set for 6:00 PM.
