Dayton, Ohio – The Fordham softball team got off to a winning start in Atlantic 10 play by sweeping the Flyers during Friday's doubleheader. The Rams rode a
Chelsea Skrepenak go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning of an eventual 2-0 win in game one, powered past two separate Dayton rallies thanks to a pair of home runs by senior
Madi Shaw in a 6-4 game two win, while
Madie Aughinbaugh made it five straight wins with a pair of stellar pitching performances. With the wins, Fordham improves to 11-15 on the year and 2-0 in league action.
Game one featured a pitchers' duel between Aughinbaugh and former A-10 Pitcher of the Year Manda Cash. Dayton's Kyle Davidson singled to lead off the first against Aughinbaugh but the sophomore held the Flyers to just two other hits the rest of the way, a single in the fourth and a double in the seventh, en route to an impressive three-hit shutout with no walks and six strikeouts.
Cash kept the Rams off the board until the final frame. Fordham put its first two runners on in the first inning, as
Paige Rauch was hit by a pitch and Skrepenak walked, but the pair were stranded. Cash shut down Fordham's offense until the seventh when
Kylie Michael led off the frame with a double to left center.
Brianna Pinto entered to pinch run for Michael and advanced to third on a
Deanna Burbridge single to right. Burbridge stole second to put both runners in scoring position but Cash was able to strike Rauch out to make it two outs. Skrepenak provided the go-ahead hit by going the opposite way and driving in both with a single to right. Aughinbaugh worked around a one-out double to secure the team's 10
th win of the year.
Rauch got the start in game two opposite Jessica Weaver. The Rams got the scoring started in the second frame with a
Jordy Storm RBI double and a
Maria Trivelpiece RBI groundout. Dayton tagged Rauch for one in the third on a RBI single before Shaw smacked her first solo home run of the game in the fourth to give Fordham a 3-1 lead.
Dayton rallied twice over the next two innings, first by plating two runs in the fourth on a double and a groundout before Skrepenak launched her first home run of the year in the top of the fifth to retake the lead, 4-3. As Aughinbaugh relieved Rauch in the fifth, the Flyers struck back with a RBI double to knot the game back up at four-all. The Flyers turned to Jessica Gilliam in the sixth inning and she surrendered the go-ahead run on Shaw's second solo blast, this time to left center. Trivelpiece capped the scoring with her first career triple, driving in Pinto.
Aughinbaugh notched wins in both contests, making it five straight in the team's last five wins. Shaw's two home runs give the senior 31 for her career to move her into sole possession of seventh all-time in program history. Skrepenak led the squad with three hits on the day, plus two walks, to reach five times with three runs driven in. Michael and Trivelpiece also tallied one hit apiece in each game.
Due to expected weather tomorrow, which moved the doubleheader to today, the Rams will wait until Sunday to complete the series with Dayton, with first pitch still scheduled for 12 p.m.
