Tuscaloosa, Ala. – The Fordham softball team came within one run of #13/13 Alabama, 4-3, in the nightcap of day one of the Easton Crimson Classic just hours after defeating Samford, 4-1. The Rams will get another crack at the Crimson Tide tomorrow, though, as well as the Bulldogs. With the results, Fordham moves to 5-12 on the season.
The Rams led throughout against Samford to kick off the Crimson Classic on Friday morning, with junior
Deanna Burbridge drawing first blood in the second frame by driving in a pair,
Lauren Quense and
Jordy Storm, with a single to left field with the bases loaded.
Skylar Johnston added the eventual go-ahead run with a single up the middle to score Burbridge. The Bulldogs, who had been held scoreless over the first four frames by freshman
Paige Rauch, got on the board with a RBI double but that was their only offense of the game. Quense added a fourth run by driving in
Madie Aughinbaugh with a sac fly to center.
Rauch tallied win number five on the year with six innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and three walks, while striking out five. Aughinbaugh came on in relief and retired the side. Johnston led the way with a pair of hits, while Aughinbaugh doubled and
Chelsea Skrepenak tripled. Burbridge and Storm each singled once and
Molly Roark walked once.
Against the nationally-ranked Crimson Tide, the Rams struck first. Rauch led the game off with a walk and Skrepenak singled to shortstop. Johnston grounded to the shortstop who threw the ball away, allowing Rauch to score. Skrepenak was thrown out on the play but Johnston got to second.
Madi Shaw stepped up and smashed a double off the wall in center to drive her in to take a two-nil lead.
Alabama evened things up against Quense in the second inning with a RBI single and RBI double before the graduate was able to induce a pair of pop-ups to end the thread. Reagan Dykes led the third inning off with a solo home run and the Tide cobbled together the go-ahead run with a single, stolen base, and a RBI double by Maddie Morgan. Again, Quense was able to work out of the one-out jam to end the threat.
Fordham got close in the fourth, with Aughinbaugh walking and making it to third on an error by the first baseman. With runners on the corners,
Kelly Bright grounded out to the pitcher but Aughinbaugh scored. Roark and Burbridge each walked to load the bases but Rauch struck out.
Aughinbaugh came on in relief again and worked around runners in scoring position and, later, a bases loaded situation, to get out of the frame unscathed. Johnston doubled to right center with one out in the fifth and nearly scored on Shaw's single to right but was held at third and the Rams weren't able to drive them in. Three clean half-innings followed until Fordham threatened yet again in the top of the seventh. Rauch led off with a single to center and Johnston walked after a Skrepenak strikeout. Shaw singled again, this time to left, and the bases were loaded again. Madison Preston, for the second time in three innings, was able to get Aughinbaugh and Storm out to end the threat and, this time, the contest.
The Rams will play Alabama again tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST and Samford again immediately after. They'll play Boston College on Sunday at 12 p.m. to round out the weekend.
