Bronx, N.Y. – (March 6, 2018) – With the nor'easter making its way into Tri-State area tomorrow, the Fordham baseball team was able to sneak in their mid-week game with the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds a day early. The Rams then sneaked away with an extra-inning victory, topping the Blackbirds, 3-2 in 10 innings, at Houlihan Park on Tuesday in walk-off fashion.
With the win, Fordham improved to 6-4-1 on the year, while LIU Brooklyn is now 4-7.
Before the Rams hit in the first, Fordham flashed the leather early, as centerfielder
Billy Godrick made a leaping grabbing at the wall to rob LIU's Andrew Turner of a possible home run. Godrick then put the Rams on top in the bottom of the first, as he drew a leadoff walk, stole second, moved to third on a bunt single and scored on a passed ball.
The Rams added to the lead in the fifth inning, making it a 2-0 game. Godrick singled with one out, stole second, and came home on an RBI-single by
Alvin Melendez.
The Blackbirds answered with a run in the sixth, as Turner doubled down the left field line, moved to third on a fly ball, and scored on an error.
The score remained at 2-1 until the ninth, when with a runner at third and two outs, Alex Briggs hit a ground ball to second, which
Jake MacKenzie could not field cleanly, allowing Luis Arias to score and tie the game.
Billy Godrick had three highlight reel catches on Tuesday.
Fordham would not be denied the win, however, as the Rams scored in the bottom of the tenth to come away with a 3-2 walk-off victory.
Colton Snelling started the inning with a walk and moved to third on a pair of groundouts. Melendez then hit a sharp ground ball to the left side hole that Arias could not make a play on, giving Melendez the RBI-infield single to score Snelling and end the game.
Melendez (1-0) got the win in relief, allowing one unearned run over two innings, while at the plate he was 3-for-5 with two RBI and thee stolen bases.
Anthony DiMeglio got the start, tossing three shutout innings with six strikeouts, with
John Stankiewicz pitching three innings of one-hit relief.
Brian Weissert and
Kyle Martin also pitched one scoreless inning of relief.
Besides Melendez, Godrick was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases, while
Justin Bardwell and
Brian Goulard had the remaining two hits for Fordham.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Saturday, March 10
th, when the Rams begin a three-game series at Coppin State with an 11:00 AM doubleheader.
