Harrisonburg, Va. – (March 4, 2018) – James Madison used a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the series finale from the Fordham Rams, 7-6, at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
The loss puts Fordham's record at 5-4-1 on the year, while James Madison improved to 7-4.
After the Duke opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the third, Fordham answered with two runs in the top of the fourth.
Jake MacKenzie started things with a one-out triple down the left field line and scored on a ground out by
Brian Goulard.
C.J. Vazquez then singled to left and scored on a double to right center by
Jake Baker for a 2-1 lead.
The lead was short-lived as Fox Semones connected on a solo home run to left to start the bottom of the fourth, knotting the game at two.
Fordham then regained the lead at 4-2 in the fifth, as with runners at second and third with two outs, MacKenzie singled up the middle to score
Matt Tarabek and
Nick Labella.
MacKenzie then extended the Fordham lead to 5-2 in the top of the seventh with an RBI-single to score Labella, who reached on a double.
Things then went sideways for the Rams, as James Madison scored five times in the bottom of the seventh on only one hit to take a 7-5 lead. After loading the bases on a hit by a pitch, a single, and a walk, the Dukes scored runs on a hit by pitch, a walk, a fielder' choice, a wild pitch and an error.
Fordham got a run back in the eighth to make it 7-6 on an RBI-double by
Alvin Melendez, which scored Vazquez, who reached on a walk.
The Rams then had a chance to tie the game in the ninth, as two James Madison errors put runners at the corners with one out. However, Matt Colon struck out the final two batters of the game to record his first save of the season.
Matt Mikulski (1-1) took the loss, allowing four runs in a third of an inning. Starter
Mike Cowell went the first four innings, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts, while
Brian Weissert tossed two scoreless innings of relief. At the plate, MacKenzie was 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBI, while Labella was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Wednesday, March 7
th, when the Rams play at LIU Brooklyn, beginning at 2:30 PM.
