Tampa, Fla. – (February 23, 2018) – After basking in great weather on Wednesday, the gorgeous night in Tampa kept the Fordham baseball team in the right frame of mind on Friday night. The Rams' pitching trio of
Ben Greenberg,
Anthony DiMeglio, and
Alvin Melendez put together a brilliant effort, allowing only one hit, as Fordham shut out the USF Bulls, 2-0, at USF Baseball Stadium.
With the win, Fordham improved to 3-1-1 on the year, while USF fell to 1-4. It was the Rams' first win over USF since 1992, and the first one-hit shutout thrown by Fordham since April 7, 2001 against Dayton.
It was a stellar pitching match-up between Fordham senior captain
Ben Greenberg and USF star left-hander Shane McClanahan, so scoring was going to be at a premium.
Fordham was able to get to McClanahan early in the second inning, as
Matt Tarabek doubled to left center, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly by
Nick Labella for a 1-0 lead.
The Rams added a second run in the top of the fifth, taking advantage of another USF miscue. Labella connected on a one-out single and advanced to second on a passed ball. One out later,
C.J. Vazquez hit a ground ball to short, but the throw to first was in the dirt and got away from the first baseman, allowing Labella to score for a 2-0 lead.
Anthony DiMeglio
The two runs was enough for Greenberg and Fordham reliever
Anthony DiMeglio and
Alvin Melendez, as the trio combined to allow just one hit and two walks, while facing just two batters over the minimum.
Greenberg (1-0) earned his first win since April 10, 2016, as he threw five shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk, while striking out five batters. DiMeglio threw three innings of no-hit relief with four strikeouts, while Melendez, who was also 1-for-4 at the plate, earned his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Offensively, Fordham had just four hits off USF's tandem of McClanahan and Richie Cruz. Labella was 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI, while Tarabek was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Billy Godrick had the remaining hit.
Game two of this three-game series will be on Saturday at 6:30 PM.
