Softball Preps for Five-School, 10-Game Fordham Tournament

Tournament Central
Twitter Updates @FordhamSoftball
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (6-14) has finished its preseason tour of warmer climates and has returned to the northeast in preparation of the beginning of the Atlantic 10 season. First, the Rams will host the five-school, 10-game Fordham Tournament, which includes Detroit Mercy, Holy Cross, Seton Hall, and UMass-Lowell. Fordham will take on the latter at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon to kick off the weekend.
 
All relevant links, video, audio, live stats, etc. can be found at the Tournament Central link above. Only Fordham's two contests on Saturday will be streamed online.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams finished the Easton Crimson Classic with a 2-3 record, falling to the hosts, #13/13 Alabama twice, and Boston College, but defeating Samford twice with identical 4-1 scorelines. Fordham started the weekend with its first win over Samford, leading throughout, as Deanna Burbridge got her team started with a two-run single in the second inning. Paige Rauch, last week's A-10 Rookie of the Week, got the start and allowed just one run over her six frames, while Madie Aughinbaugh notched her first career save with a perfect seventh inning. Right after, Fordham met the Crimson Tide and took the lead in the first inning on an error and fielder's choice and then a Madi Shaw RBI double. The hosts got to Lauren Quense, though, with four runs over the next two innings to take the lead. The Rams rallied more than once but were only able to score once, on a Kelly Bright RBI groundout in the fourth.
 
The two schools met again to begin the Saturday slate and, although Fordham again took a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning, on a Shaw two-run home run, the Crimson Tide would go on to win by limiting the Rams to just one hit the rest of the way. Alabama took the lead for good in the third on a two-run home run and pitcher Alexis Osorio set a school record and tied a NCAA record with 21 strikeouts. Fordham bounced back with another 4-1 win over Samford, with Quense tallying her first win of the year and Rauch adding her first save, as well. Sunday brought a tough loss to Boston College as the Eagles rallied with three runs in the final two frames to win, 4-2. Shaw, for the third time last weekend, put Fordham up 2-0 with a two-run single.
 
Shaw led the way on offensive with a .400/.438/.667 slash line but no other Rams batted over .250. Rauch and Aughinbaugh did combine for seven runs scored despite combining for five hits. In the circle, Rauch and Quense notched the two victories but Aughinbaugh posted a solid 2.56 ERA over four appearances and two starts, throwing a team-high 13.2 frames.
 
Rauch Named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week
Paige Rauch took home the program's first piece of hardware last week when she was named Rookie of the Week. She slashed .357/.500/1.000 at the plate with a pair of solo home runs, a team-high five walks and runs scored, and four runs driven in, and made four appearances in the circle, three starts, and walked away with a 3-1 record, allowing just six runs, five earned, on 13 hits and 10 walks across 21.2 innings (1.62 ERA), while striking out 14. Read more about Rauch's weekend, here.
 
Series History vs. This Weekend's Opponents
- Fordham and UMass-Lowell have never met before.
- Fordham leads the all-time series with Holy Cross, 8-3, since 1991. The series' 11 contests all came between 1991 and 1995 while the Rams and Crusaders competed in the Patriot League. The last time the two schools met was in 1995 when a road doubleheader was split and Holy Cross defeated the Rams, 2-1, in the conference tournament.
- The all-time series with Seton Hall is tied, 14-14, dating back to 1987. The Pirates won seven straight to begin the rivalry but has won just once since 2007. Fordham has won the other 10 meetings since then, including a 5-0 victory at home a season ago.
- Detroit leads the all-time series, 5-2, since 1988, although the Rams have been victorious the last two times the two schools
 
Coach Orchard Approaching 600 Wins in the Bronx
Bridget Orchard celebrated her 700^th career victory last season with a 7-0 shutout in game one of a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's last April 2^nd. Of her current 724 career wins, 597 have come in maroon and white.
 
Fordham Picked to Successfully Defend A-10 Title
Like a year ago, Fordham received nine of 10 possible first-place votes and 99 points from the league's head coaches and have thus been picked to successfully defend its Atlantic 10 championship for a sixth consecutive year. You can read more about that, here. The Rams have won five straight tournament titles and six of the last seven, plus five regular season titles, as well, in the past eight years.
 
Keeping up with the Record Book
As mentioned, 17 school records were broken or tied last year. Quense and Shaw continue their climbs up the all-time lists in their final campaigns in maroon and white. Check it all out, here.
 
Fordham Softball Archived Stories
Read up on Fordham's offseason turnover, season previews, game previews and recaps. Read all of the team's archived stories from this season and beyond, here.
 
Fordham Quick Facts
You can find this season's full schedule, roster, and quick facts, plus last year's season statistics, all here.
 
Welcoming New Faces
The program welcomed seven new players to the Bronx this season, six freshmen and one transfer. Infielder Rachel Hubertus, infielder Brianna Pinto, pitcher Anne Marie Prentiss, pitcher/infielder Paige Rauch, and pitcher Gianna Ranieri were announced last November in the initial five-person class, while utility player Kelly Bright and JuCo transfer catcher Molly Roark were announced in June. Coach Orchard also revealed her initial five-player 2018 recruiting class this past fall.
 
Up Next
Atlantic 10 season begins next weekend but before that the Rams have two separate road contests coming up in midweek, first at Iona on Wednesday at 3 p.m. then Stony Brook on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!