Baseball Travels to USF for Weekend Series

Tampa, Fla. – (February 23, 2018) – Following the team's home opener win on Wednesday, the Fordham baseball team is back on the road this weekend, when the Rams travel to Tampa, Florida, for a three-game series with the USF Bulls.  Fordham enters the series at 2-1-1 on the year, while USF is 1-3.
 
Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Friday - 7:00 PM – Fordham - RHP Ben Greenberg (0-0, 0.00) vs. USF LHP Shane McClanahan (1-0, 0.00) // Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday - 6:30 PM – Fordham – RHP Reiss Knehr (0-0, 9.00) vs. USF RHP Peter Strzelecki (0-1, 20.25) // Live Stats | Live Audio | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday - 1:00 PM – Fordham - RHP Mike Cowell (0-0, 3.00) vs. USF RHP Collin Sullivan (0-0, 4.76) // Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Series History
Fordham and USF have met 13 times previously with the Bulls winning 11 of those 13 games.  The two squads have not met since 1996, when USF swept a three-game series from the Rams.  Fordham's last win over USF came in 1992.
 
Last Time Out
With the weather report at sunny and a record 70 degrees, it was a picture perfect day in the Bronx for the Fordham baseball home opener at Houlihan Park on Wednesday.  The Rams took full advantage of the day, as Fordham came away with a 3-2 win over the Army West Point Black Knights behind stellar pitching and some clutch hitting.
 
After getting out of a couple of early jams in the first and second inning, Fordham kicked off the home season with a bang, as freshman Nick Labella connected on his first career home run, a solo shot to left in the third inning to give Fordham a 1-0 lead.
 
The Rams made it 2-0 in the fourth, as Alvin Melendez drew a walk to open the frame, stole second, and advanced to third on a balk.  Justin Bardwell then came through with a two-out single to left to score Melendez.

 
The Black Knights cut the deficit in half in the top of the fifth , but Fordham regained a two-run edge in the seventh, as Bardwell lined a one-out double right over the bag and down the right field line and scored on a single up the middle by Labella, making it a 3-1 game.
 
The Black Knights still had some fight left in the eighth, when Matt Hudgins hit a solo home run to right center, his first of the year.  Army West Point later got the tying run into scoring position but Fordham reliever Kyle Martin struck out pinch-hitter Garrett Houston to end the inning.
 
Martin then posted a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his first save of the season, going the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit with two strikeouts.  John Stankiewicz (1-0) was credited with the win, allowing just one hit over the first 2.1 innings with three strikeouts.  Matt Mikulski tossed two innings of relief with four strikeouts with Brian Weissert adding three strikeouts in 1.1 hitless innings.  Nance and Joseph Quintal also pitched one inning each.   At the plate, Labella was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while Bardwell was also 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.  Melendez tacked on a 1-for-3 day with two stolen bases and a run scored with C.J. Vazquez posting a pair of hits and his first multi-hit game.
 
Mikulski Named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week (2/19)
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its first set of weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham freshman Matt Mikulski being selected as the league's Rookie of the Week. Mikulski was stellar in his debut performance for the Rams against Wofford. He tossed 3.2 innings of two-hit relief, allowing just one run and striking out seven batters to earn his first collegiate win over the Terriers.  He had a stretch of five straight strikeouts in the game, which included striking out the side in the fifth inning.
 
Pitching Rules Opening Weekend
Fordham went 1-1-1 on opening weekend, playing a pair of extra inning affairs.  The Fordham pitching staff was the story, racking up 43 strikeouts in three games, and holding opponents to a .202 average.  In the first NCAA statistics report, Fordham is sixth in the country in strikeouts per nine innings (13.3).
 
Who's Next
The Rams will travel to Harrisonburg, Virginia, next weekend, March 2-4, for a three-game series at James Madison.