Baseball Takes on Manhattan This Weekend in the Battle of the Bronx

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 29, 2018) – Winners of three straight games, the Fordham baseball team (13-7-1) looks to extend its current win streak this weekend against the Manhattan Jaspers (12-10) at Houlihan Park. The annual Battle of the Bronx is a three game-series this year with a single game on Friday at 11:00 AM and a noon doubleheader on Saturday.

Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Friday - Fordham – RHP Reiss Knehr (2-2, 4.08) vs. Manhattan - RHP Marc Galvan (2-1, 2.63) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball

Saturday – Game 1 - Fordham – RHP Ben Greenberg (3-0, 1.59) vs. Manhattan - RHP Matt Simonetti (2-1, 4.94) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball

Saturday – Game 2 - Fordham – RHP Anthony DiMeglio (2-0, 4.91) vs. Manhattan – RHP Joe DiNizio (1-2, 4.74) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball

Series History
The Rams and Jaspers have one of the longest standing local rivalries, dating back to 1870, and having played those games all across the Bronx, including Yankee Stadium. Since 1923, Fordham holds a 79-33-3 record against the Jaspers. Last season, the two teams split a doubleheader with Fordham winning an 8-4 game in nine innings on a grand slam home run by Luke Stampfl, while Manhattan won the night cap 4-2 in seven innings.

Last Time Out
It was National Joe Day on Tuesday, and appropriately for the Fordham baseball team, its 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.

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.

Vazquez Named A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week (3/26)
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its set of weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham freshman C.J. Vazquez (Miami, Fla.) being selected as the league's Rookie of the Week. Vazquez is the third different Fordham freshman honored this season, joining Matt Mikulski and Nick Labella.

Vazquez hit safely in all three games this weekend at Davidson, batting .500 (5-10) with two runs scored and two walks. He had a pair of hits in both the Friday and Saturday contests to start the weekend. Then, he led off the game-tying three-run rally on Sunday with a walk, and then singled and scored the winning run in the ninth. On the year, Vazquez is batting a team-best .317, with three doubles, eight runs scored, and six RBI.

Who's Hot
Freshman C.J. Vazquez is batting .364 (12-33) over his last ten games with four runs scored and a .432 on-base percentage… Sophomore Matt Tarabek is hitting .333 (14-42) with nine runs scored, four extra-base hits, six stolen bases, and seven RBI in his last 11 games… Freshman Jake MacKenzie has 12 RBI, five stolen bases, and six runs scored in his last 11 contests… Sophomore Alvin Melendez has 12 runs scored and 12 stolen bases in his last 11 games… Senior captain Ben Greenberg has been stellar in his six starts, going 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 28.1 innings, while Fordham is a perfect 6-0 when he starts… Sophomore Brian Weissert has been virtually unhittable in the Rams' bullpen, ranking second in the NCAA in ERA at 0.40 over 22.2 innings with one save… Freshman John Stankiewicz has a 1.80 ERA and a .147 opponent batting average in his six relief appearances this year.

He's Going, He's Going
A popular phrase heard at Fordham's Houlihan Park at any Rams' home game is "He's going, he's going!" That phrase has certainly been true through the first 20 games of the 2018 season. This year, the Rams have 70 stolen bases, which ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and third in the country, while the team's 3.33 average is tops in the nation. Individually, ten Rams have at least one stolen bases this season, led by Alvin Melendez with 16, which ranks second in the country, while his 0.80 per game average is #1 in the nation.

Who's Next
Following this weekend, the Rams continue their homestand on Tuesday, April 3^rd, when they host Siena at 6:00 PM, followed by Fordham's second game against Saint Peter's on April 4^th at 3:30 PM.