Softball Heads to Tuscaloosa for the Easton Crimson Classic this Weekend

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (4-11) is coming off its first winning weekend of the 2018 campaign and will look to carry that momentum into its penultimate preseason tournament this weekend, at Alabama's Easton Crimson Classic. The Rams will open the tournament at 12 p.m. against Samford and later play the #13/13 Crimson Tide at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Fordham will play the same two schools, at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, before wrapping up the weekend against Boston College on Sunday at 12 p.m. All times are Eastern.  
 
Only the two Fordham/Alabama contests will be streamed but fans can also follow along via live stats and live twitter updates. All links are above.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams finished the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic II with a 3-2 record. Last Friday, Fordham downed Ball State in six innings, 11-3, but fell to NR/RV Notre Dame, 8-0, in six frames. On Saturday, the Rams rallied with six runs in the sixth to defeat Robert Morris, 9-6, but fell, 1-0, to Troy immediately after. The winning record for the weekend was secured with a 7-2 win over NR/RV Florida International on Sunday. Against the Cardinals, Paige Rauch scored her team's first two runs, first by being driven in on a Skylar Johnston double then launching a solo home run in the third inning. Ball State came back with three runs in the top half of the fourth but Fordham answered with three runs of its own in the bottom half and then tacked on six more in the fifth to trigger the run rule. Rauch hit another solo shot in the fifth and recorded her second win of the season by going the distance. Rauch and Chelsea Skrepenak had the only two hits against the Fighting Irish, although the Rams did walk five times, in the shut-out loss.
 
Madie Aughinbaugh got the start against Robert Morris and cruised through four innings before allowing the Colonials to put up six runs, five earned, in the fifth. Fordham answered with a six spot in the bottom of the sixth to snatch the win as Rauch picked up another win in relief. The freshman started against Troy but took her first loss despite giving up just one unearned run over six frames. The Rams were limited to just six hits and two walks. Fordham bounced back with a resounding win over the Panthers on Sunday, however, with Madi Shaw smacking a second inning home run and Johnston doubling in two runs in the third, the latter of which proving to be the difference. Rauch tallied win number four with a complete game.
 
Rauch Named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week
Paige Rauch took home the program's first piece of hardware this week when she was named Rookie of the Week on Tuesday morning. Rauch slashed .357/.500/1.000 at the plate with a pair of solo home runs, a team-high five walks and runs scored, and four runs driven in, and made four appearances in the circle, three starts, and walked away with a 3-1 record, allowing just six runs, five earned, on 13 hits and 10 walks across 21.2 innings (1.62 ERA), while striking out 14. Read more about Rauch's weekend, here.
 
Series History vs. This Weekend's Opponents
- Fordham and Samford have never met.
- Alabama holds a 2-1 all-time series advantage since 2011 when the #4 Crimson Tide won, 3-1, on neutral ground. A year later, Alabama, then ranked third in the country, came to the Bronx for a one-off contest which Fordham won, 8-5. That was the highest ranked opponent the program has defeated. #5 Alabama most recently won, 9-1, in five innings in 2016 at the UCF Invitational.
- Boston College won both of the two school's only meetings, both in 2016 at the Black & Orange Challenge, hosted by Mercer.
 
Coach Orchard Approaching 600 Wins in the Bronx
Bridget Orchard celebrated her 700^th career victory last season with a 7-0 shutout in game one of a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's last April 2^nd. Of her current 724 career wins, 595 have come in maroon and white.
 
Fordham Picked to Successfully Defend A-10 Title
Like a year ago, Fordham received nine of 10 possible first-place votes and 99 points from the league's head coaches and have thus been picked to successfully defend its Atlantic 10 championship for a sixth consecutive year. You can read more about that, here. The Rams have won five straight tournament titles and six of the last seven, plus five regular season titles, as well, in the past eight years.
 
Keeping up with the Record Book
As mentioned, 17 school records were broken or tied last year. Quense and Shaw continue their climbs up the all-time lists in their final campaigns in maroon and white. Check it all out, here.
 
Fordham Softball Archived Stories
Read up on Fordham's offseason turnover, season previews, game previews and recaps. Read all of the team's archived stories from this season and beyond, here.
 
Fordham Quick Facts
You can find this season's full schedule, roster, and quick facts, plus last year's season statistics, all here.
 
Welcoming New Faces
The program welcomed seven new players to the Bronx this season, six freshmen and one transfer. Infielder Rachel Hubertus, infielder Brianna Pinto, pitcher Anne Marie Prentiss, pitcher/infielder Paige Rauch, and pitcher Gianna Ranieri were announced last November in the initial five-person class, while utility player Kelly Bright and JuCo transfer catcher Molly Roark were announced in June. Coach Orchard also revealed her initial five-player 2018 recruiting class this past fall.
 
Up Next
The Rams travel a little north to Tuscaloosa, home to the nationally-ranked Crimson Tide, for the Easton Crimson Classic. Fordham will play Alabama and Samford each twice on Friday and Saturday and then wrap things up with Boston College next Sunday morning.
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!