Baseball Shuts Out Saint Peter’s, 18-0

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 27, 2018) – It was National Joe Day on Tuesday, and appropriately for the Fordham baseball team, it's only Joe, freshman Joseph Quintal, got his first career start at Houlihan Park against the Saint Peter's Peacocks. Quintal, along with five other pitchers, shined on the mound, as they combined for a one-hit shutout, while Jake MacKenzie had a grand slam and six RBI in an 18-0 win over the Peacocks.

With the win, Fordham improved to 13-7-1 on the year, while Saint Peter's fell to 0-13.

The Rams' offense started clicking right away in the first inning, scoring four times, highlighted by a two-run triple by Alvin Melendez and an RBI-double by Justin Machado.

Fordham added three more runs in the second, as the Rams picked up runs on RBI-singles from Jake Baker and Matt Tarabek, while the third run came in on an error.

It was more of the same in the third as five runs came across the plate for a 12-0 lead for Fordham. The Rams loaded the bases with Tarabek drawing a walk to force in a run with Jake MacKenzie connecting on a grand slam home run, his third round-tripper of the year.

Fordham finished the scoring with one run in the fourth, four in the sixth, and one in the eighth for the 18-0 final score. It was the most runs scored for the Rams, since scoring 19 on April 12, 2016 against Iona, while being the largest margin of victory for Fordham since defeating Manhattan, 20-2, on April 15, 1993.

The only thing in doubt was a possible no-hitter, as Quintal did not allow a hit through the first four innings, while Matt Mikulski had a clean fifth. However, Angel Perez connected on a double to left center off Brandon Nance for the lone hit for the Peacocks in the sixth inning. Nance would strand Perez at second with Mike Cowell, Brandon Martin, and Anthony Zimmerman each pitching one scoreless inning to close out the game. Quintal (1-0) earned his first collegiate win, striking out five batters over four innings, with Mikulski and Martin having two strikeouts each and one apiece for Cowell and Zimmerman.

At the plate, MacKenzie had the big day, going 3-for-4 with a double, a grand slam home run, two runs scored, and a season-high six RBI. He is the first Ram to have six RBI in a game since Charles Galiano on May 2, 2015 against St. Bonaventure. Nico Doria finished 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Machado was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Melendez ended up 2-for-2 with a triple, three runs scored, two RBI, and a stolen with Baker and Reiss Knehr also having two hits each.

The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Friday, March 30^th, when the Rams begin a three-game series with the Manhattan College Jaspers at Houlihan Park, beginning at 11:00 AM.