Bronx, N.Y. - The home portion of the Fordham softball team's spring slate began in earnest on Friday afternoon in frigid conditions against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in the opening game of the five-team, 10-game Fordham tournament. The Rams led from the bottom of the first on against the Redhawks and walked away with a 5-2 victory. With the win, Fordham improves to 7-14 on the year, while UMass-Lowell falls to 2-13 overall.
The Redhawks got on the board first, cobbling together a single and a booming double own the right field line with two outs in the first frame, but the Rams responded in a big way shortly after with a three spot, powered by senior
Madi Shaw's towering two-run blast to right, her fourth of the year. The Rams weren't done as
Chelsea Skrepenak laced a single to left, stole second, and scored on
Madie Aughinbaugh's double down the left field line. That run would prove to be the difference in the game, giving Aughinbaugh her first win of the season.
UMass-Lowell again put together a bases-empty two-out rally in the third, tallying one run on a single up the middle, although the run was unearned. Aughinbaugh battled back, though, to get out of the jam and would keep the visitors off the board the rest of the way. Fordham responded in the bottom half of the inning with a Shaw RBI double to score
Paige Rauch, who had walked to lead off the frame, and added the fifth run in the fourth.
Brianna Pinto singled through the left side, stole second, advanced to third on a
Lauren Quense double that the wind kept in the park and dropped on the fair side of the left field line, and then scored on
Deanna Burbridge's pop-out to shallow right.
Shaw was the lone Ram to reach more than once, going 2-for-3 with a double, home run, and three runs driven in. Aughinbaugh finished her day with two runs allowed, one earned, on seven hits and no walks, while striking out five.
The Rams play both Holy Cross and Seton Hall tomorrow afternoon back-to-back beginning at 2 p.m. or earlier if the previous games are short. Both games will be streamed on the A-10 Digital Network and can also be heard on WFUVSports.org.
