Softball Travels to Saint Louis for Three Games this Weekend

Live Stats: Game One | Game Two | Game Three
Twitter Updates @FordhamSoftball
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (22-17, 10-1 A-10) takes its nine-game winning streak, seven straight in-conference, to Saint Louis (22-20, 7-5 A-10) this weekend for a three-game series, the team's last road Atlantic 10 contests of the season. Both Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m. EST.
 
Fans can follow along with live stats and in-game tweets via the links above.   
 
Last Time Out
The Rams extended their win streak to nine games with a doubleheader sweep of St. Bonaventure on Wednesday afternoon at Bahoshy Field. Sophomore Madie Aughinbaugh and freshman Paige Rauch combined to hold the Bonnies to just one unearned run and the offense scored 12 runs across the two contests as Fordham improved to 12-1 in league action. Aughinbaugh tossed her second straight shutout and sixth on the season, already tied for fifth-most in a single campaign, with just five hits and no walks allowed, plus six strikeouts. A two-out error in the field led to St. Bonaventure's lone run of the day against Rauch in the first inning of game two but the freshman was terrific thereafter, limiting the Bonnies to a total of four hits and three walks while setting a season-high with eight punchouts, which is also tied for the season-high by a Rams pitcher (Quense vs. Bryant).
 
Series History vs. Saint Louis
Fordham leads the all-time series with the Billikens, 22-8, dating back to 2006 when the latter joined the Atlantic 10, all coming under head coach Bridget Orchard. The Rams are 12-1 at home and 3-1 on neutral ground but just 5-6 in Saint Louis. The two schools only met once a year ago and not in the regular season; Fordham defeated the Billikens, 10-2, in six innings in the A-10 Championship quarterfinals. Lauren Quense picked up the win in that one and Madi Shaw, Chelsea Skrepenak, and Skylar Johnston all drove in runs.
 
Rauch Named Top 25 Finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year
Paige Rauch has been a steady force at the top of the Fordham lineup and in the circle, earning three A-10 Rookie of the Week honors, and now being named one of the 25 best freshmen in the country. Rauch has slashed .317/.461/.725 with a team-leading 12 home runs, 34 RBIs, 31 walks, and 44 runs scored, and is 11-1 with a 1.36 ERA over 17 appearances and 11 starts. Saint Louis' Sadie Wise also made the list. Read more about Rauch's latest accolade, HERE.
 
NCAA Ranks
As a team, the Rams rank within the top-100 in five categories: Fordham averages 1.05 dingers per contest (26^th), 5.41 runs per game (43^rd), 0.22 triples per contest (66^th), has a .447 slugging percentage (57^th), a 2.27 K/BB ratio (66^th), and a 2.71 team ERA (70^th). At the individual level, a few Rams are within the top-100. Rauch has been excellent at the plate and in the circle to begin her Fordham career and ranks 12^th in the nation with 1.07 runs per game, 20^th with 0.76 walks per game, 24^th with five triples, 34^th with 12 home runs, 63^rd with a .719 slugging percentage, and 73^rd with 86 total bases. Her 1.36 ERA also sits 31^st nationally. The trio of Johnston, Rauch, and Shaw have averages of 0.27, 0.29, and 0.25 home runs per game, ranked 62^nd, 34^th, an 75^th, respectively. In the circle, Aughinbaugh's 5.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 24^th in the country, while the sophomore is tied for tops in all of Division I… with just one hit batter all year, tied with 11 others.
 
Atlantic 10 Ranks
The Rams leads the Atlantic 10 with 43 home runs, are second with 222 runs and 204 RBIs, and fourth with 292 hits. Fordham also tops the league with both 148 walks and 270 strikeouts, the latter number already surpassing last year's total. In the circle, the Rams' 2.71 team ERA ranks second over the third-most innings (265.2).
 
Skrepenak's .373 average ranks fifth and her .431 on-base percentage ranks 10^th. Ahead of her is Rauch at four with a .461 on-base percentage, while Storm sits 17^th at .411. Rauch's .725 slugging percentage also ranks fourth, right ahead of Skylar Johnston at six (.652) and Skrepenak at eight (.591). Johnston's 12 doubles are joint-fifth most thus far, while Rauch is the first A-10 player to hit 25 walks on the year (31). Her five triples are tied with St. Bonaventure's Alexandra Deal for tops and her 44 runs are second-most. Aughinbaugh and Rauch became the third and fourth pitchers to reach 10 wins on the season and rank third with 11 wins apiece. The former's 116.0 innings pitched are fourth-most and her 2.78 ERA sits eighth, while Rauch's 1.36 ERA sits second-lowest just .06 behind Dayton's Manda Cash.
 
Program Ranks
While Madi Shaw and Lauren Quense have continued to steadily climb various program top-10s, one player has made an early appearance on several – Madie Aughinbaugh. Shaw continues to be a fixture in the triple slash line categories and is now up to sixth with 145 RBIs, joint-fourth with 35 home runs, and eighth with 74 walks. Quense, meanwhile, sits within the top-three of several pitching categories and most recently entered the top-five with her 35^th career complete game at Iona. Aughinbaugh has enjoyed a tremendous season and a half in maroon and white and recently joined the top-10 for wins, now solo eighth with 29 career victories, and just tied Quense for career shutouts, with nine, for sixth all-time. The sophomore, among pitchers with 200 or more innings, is also sixth all-time with a 2.35 ERA. A year ago, Aughinbaugh got into the top-10 for single-season wins, with 18, and this season is one of five players in school history with at least six shutouts in a season. Check out the softball record book HERE.
 
Rauch Nabs Second Straight A-10 Rookie of the Week Honor
The freshman enjoyed a tremendous week in wins at Iona and Rhode Island, earning her second straight Rookie of the Week nod and third overall this season. Read more, HERE.
 
Coach Orchard Earns Win Number 600 in Maroon and White
Bridget Orchard celebrated her 700th career victory last season with a 7-0 shutout in game one of a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's last April 2nd and reached another milestone this past weekend at home, tallying her 600th win as Fordham head coach in style, with a 21-0 win over Detroit Mercy last Sunday. In her 17th season at the helm, Orchard has a 611-371 record in the Bronx.
 
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.
 
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 return to host Delaware for a Wednesday doubleheader before welcoming Massachusetts for a crucial three-game set next weekend.  
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!