Baseball Hosts George Washington for A-10 Series

Bronx, N.Y. – (April 19, 2018) – After a split of its mid-week contests, the Fordham baseball team welcomes the George Washington Colonials to Houlihan Park this weekend for an important Atlantic 10 series for both teams.  Friday's game is now set for 3:00 PM, which is a change from the original schedule.  Saturday's game time of 2:00 PM and Sunday's noon start remain the same.
 
Fordham (22-12-1, 6-3 A-10) enters this weekend right in the thick of things for the Atlantic 10 playoffs, having secured series wins in each of the first three weekends of league play.  George Washington (20-16) also has a 6-3 league record, but have lost four of their last five games after winning 12 of 13 contests previously.
 
Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Friday - Fordham – RHP Reiss Knehr (3-2, 2.70) vs. George Washington - RHP Jaret Edwards (2-0, 3.79) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday – Fordham – RHP Ben Greenberg (5-1, 1.69) vs. George Washington - RHP Elliott Raimo (3-2, 1.68) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball

Sunday – Fordham – RHP Anthony DiMeglio (5-0, 3.88) vs. George Washington - RHP Nathan Woods (3-3, 3.08) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Series History
Fordham and George Washington have met 36 times since the first meeting back on April 15, 1952.  Outside of three games, the rest have all been as member of the Atlantic 10.  The Colonials hold a slight edge in the series at 19-17 entering this weekend.  The two teams did not play last season, but in 2016, Fordham swept a three-game series from George Washington at Houlihan Park.  The Colonials last win over Fordham came at the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship, which was at George Washington.
 
Last Time Out
Columbia's Joe Engel had a home run and four RBI, while Julian Bury had three hits and a pair of RBI, as the Lions topped the Fordham Rams, 10-1, at Columbia's Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
 
Columbia took advantage of some early walks in the first to score the game's opening run.   After a leadoff single by Julian Bury, Randell Kanemaru and Liam McGill each drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.  Fordham starter Matt Mikulski got the next batter to pop up, and then Joe Engel hit a ground ball to second for a possible double play.  However, Brian Goulard could not come up with the ball at first to complete the double play, allowing Bury to score for a 1-0 edge.
 
The Lions increased the lead to 3-0 in the fourth, as after a walk to Chandler Bengston, Engel connected on a two-run home run to right, his first of the season.   Engel continued his one-man attack on the Rams, picking up his fourth RBI of the game in the fifth inning, beating out an infield single, which allowed Bury to score from third to make it, 4-0.
 
Fordham got on the board in the top of the sixth, when Reiss Knehr tripled to the right field corner to start the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jake MacKenzie.
 
Columbia answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings to extend the lead to 10-1.
 
Mikulski (1-4) took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits with four strikeouts.  At the plate, Knehr was 1-for-3 with a triple and a run scored, with Godrick going 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.
 
MacKenzie Named A-10 Rookie of the Week (4/16)
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its set of weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham freshman Jake MacKenzie (Wallingford, Conn.) being named the league's Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week.  This is now the fifth rookie award this season for Fordham.

 
MacKenzie extended his season-high hit streak to nine games with an incredible week where he hit .450 (9-for-20) with an on-base percentage of .500 and slugging percentage of 1.050.  He totaled seven runs scored, ten RBI, three doubles, three home runs, and four stolen bases for the week.  He started the week going 3-for-5 with three doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored in game one of a doubleheader against Siena, followed by two hits and two RBI in game two. MacKenzie then opened the Rams' series at La Salle with two home runs (one inside the park) and a season-high five RBI. He then hit his third home run of the series in game two to go with two runs scored.
 
That Was Quick
With the Rams' first win over La Salle on April 14^th, Fordham hit the 20-win mark as a team.  This is the earliest calendar date for the Rams to reach 20 wins since the 1991 team also reached 20 victories on April 14^th.  Over the last 30 years, the Rams have only gotten to 20 wins faster was the 1988 season, which hit 20 on April 9^th.  That 1988 team went on to set a modern day school record with 36 wins.
 
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 throughout the 2018 season.  This year, the Rams have 122 stolen bases, which marks the 11^th time that Fordham has surpassed the 100-stolen base plateau in team history.  The Rams rank first in the Atlantic 10 and first in the country in overall steals, while the team's 3.49 average is also tops in the nation.  Individually, 11 Rams have at least one stolen bases this season and six are in double figures.
 
Who's Next
Following this weekend, the Rams are on the road all next week.  Fordham is at Yale on Wednesday, April 25^th, for the Rams' first visit to New Haven since 1983, while heading to Philadelphia from April 27-29 for a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Saint Joseph's.