Softball Welcomes Massachusetts for Vital Three-Game Series this Weekend

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (27-17, 15-1 A-10) will carry its 12-game winning streak into this weekend's important three-game series against league leaders Massachusetts (28-12, 16-0 A-10) in a battle for supremacy atop the Atlantic 10. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon and Sunday's series finale will start at 1 p.m.
 
Fans can follow along on the A-10 Digital Network and WFUV Sports (90.7 FM) and via live stats with the links above.    
 
Last Time Out
Fordham swept Saint Louis on the road last weekend with a Saturday doubleheader of 4-1 and 6-2 victories and then rallied to cap the sweep with an 8-5 win on Sunday. Sophomore Madie Aughinbaugh rebounded from a one-run first frame, where she allowed a two-out double and then a RBI single, to blank the Billikens over her remaining six frames, limiting the hosts to just one other single and a hit-by-pitch for her 11^th complete game of the year. The Rams loaded the bases in the first inning but failed to drive anyone in and it wasn't until the fifth that they'd threaten again, again loading the bases with two outs but scoring once with a Madi Shaw walk. Fordham got to Maddie Baalman in the sixth, though, to grab the win. Aughinbaugh led off with a double and Lauren Quense walked and then the pair stole second and third, respectively. Deanna Burbridge drove in the former with a suicide squeeze then promptly stole second, while Page Rauch drove in Quense with an opposite-way double. Chelsea Skrepenak capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly. Fordham got off to a hot start in game two, though, with a two-run Shaw home run in the first inning and a two-run single by Rauch in the second, giving the latter all the offense she'd need to grab her 12^th victory. Rauch limited the Billikens to two runs, one earned, on seven hits and one walk, while striking out five over her seven innings.
 
The visitors again started brightly in the series finale, with Rauch launching her third leadoff home run of the campaign and Shaw following up with a second consecutive first-inning two-run home run. The hosts rallied, however, with five runs over the first two frames against Quense. After a clean third frame, Rauch came on in relief and pitched brilliantly, allowing just three hits and a walk over four scoreless frames as the Rams rallied. Skrepenak got within one with a timely two-out RBI single in the fourth, scoring Quense and nearly tying the game as Burbridge was thrown out at home. Three straight singles to begin the fifth led to a go-ahead two-run double by Jordy Storm to put Fordham up, 6-5, and the Rams added two more in the seventh on a Brianna Pinto two-run single.
 
Series History vs. Massachusetts
One of its longest rivalries, the Rams and Minutewomen have been going at it since Fordham joined the Atlantic 10 in 1996. UMass has accumulated a 49-20 record since then, including winning the first 23 games of the series. Fordham won its first two games in a doubleheader sweep at home in 2005, but fell twice at the A-10 Championship later in the season. With those two wins, UMass again went on a winning streak, taking the next 11 games and 16 of the next 18 through the 2010 season, much of which the Minutewomen were nationally ranked. Since, however, Fordham has turned the tides, winning all three games in 2011 and, after losing all three in 2012 and once in 2013, rattled off eight straight victories and have now won 13 of the last 17 meetings. Last year, the two schools met six times, three coming at the conference tournament. UMass took two of three in Amherst in the regular season and the Rams responded by winning in the quarterfinal. The Minutewomen fought their way back to reach the final and took game one, 3-2, in eight innings to force a do-or-die final game, in which the Rams walked off 2-1 winners on Madie Aughinbaugh's RBI single in the ninth inning to score Chelsea Skrepenak from second. Aughinbaugh went the distance in that game, as well, to pick up the win.
 
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 four A-10 Rookie of the Week honors (three straight) and now being named one of the 25 best freshmen in the country. Rauch has slashed .323/.467/.731 with a team-leading 13 home runs, 38 RBIs, 33 walks, and 45 runs scored, and is 13-1 with a 1.27 ERA over 19 appearances and 12 starts. Read more about Rauch's latest accolade, HERE.
 
Rauch Nabs Third Straight A-10 Rookie of the Week, Shaw Earns Co-Player
For the third week in a row, Rauch was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. Senior Madi Shaw also got her first of hardware on Monday when she was named Co-Player of the Week along with Saint Joseph's Caela Abadie. Read more about their weeks, HERE.
 
NCAA Ranks
As a team, the Rams rank within the top-100 in five categories: Fordham averages 1.05 dingers per contest (21^st), 5.45 runs per game (36^th), 0.20 triples per contest (79^th), has a .450 slugging percentage (53^rd), a 2.31 K/BB ratio (63^rd), and a 2.69 team ERA (72^nd). 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 21^st in the nation with 1.02 runs per game, 21^st with 0.75 walks per game, 17^th with five triples, 26^th with 13 home runs, 58^th with a .725 slugging percentage, and 59^th with 95 total bases. Her 1.27 ERA also sits 29^th nationally and now first in the A-10. The trio of Johnston, Rauch, and Shaw have averages of 0.25, 0.30, and 0.28 home runs per game, ranked 66^th, 31^st, and 45^th, respectively. In the circle, Aughinbaugh's 5.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 19^th in the country, while the sophomore just recently dropped out of a tie for tops in the nation with just one hit batter on the year after doing so once on Saturday.
 
Atlantic 10 Ranks
The Rams leads the Atlantic 10 with 46 home runs, are second with 240 runs and 222 RBIs, and third with 321 hits. Fordham also tops the league with both 161 walks and 285 strikeouts, the latter number already surpassing last year's total. In the circle, the Rams' 2.69 team ERA ranks second over the third-most innings (286.2).
 
Skrepenak's .358 average ranks eighth in the league, while the Rams have four in the top-20 for on-base percentage. Rauch is fourth at .467 and is joined by Shaw, Storm, and Skrepenak. The quartet of Rauch (4^th – .731), Johnston (6^th - .628), Shaw (7^th - .613), and Skrepenak (11^th - .558) sit within the top-11 together. George Mason's Brooke Sullivan became the second player to reach 25 walks on the year next to Rauch, who is already up to 33, 10^th-most in a single campaign at Fordham. The freshman's five triples are also tied for first and her 45 runs are second. Brianna Pinto's 10 stolen bases are tied for seventh. In the circle, Rauch moved past reigning Co-Pitcher of the Year Manda Cash for tops in the A-10 with a 1.27 mark. Madie Aughinbaugh, at 2.67, is sixth.
 
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 fourth with an even 150 RBIs, joint-fourth with 35 home runs, and seventh with 79 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. Her next start will be her 100^th. 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 30 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 2.32 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.
 
Slugging Trio
This is the fourth time a Rams team has featured three players with double-digit home runs. Rauch leads the way with 13 and both Johnston and Shaw each have 11. Those are more than in 2006 when Allison Twarowski, Laura Klaiber, and Lisa Busciacco had 10 each. Erin Fisher, Beckah Wiggins, and Jocelyn Dearborn combined for 40 in 2010 and, most recently, Elise Fortier, Gabby Luety, and Kayla Lombardo combined for 43.
 
Rams 87^th in RPI
With a tough preseason slate and much turnover between seasons, the Rams landed at 164 in the initial RPI with a 9-15 record. Since, the team is 18-2 and has risen up to 87^th overall, just 11 back of Massachusetts at 76^th. Fordham has wins over Hofstra (27^th).
 
Tickets On Sale for A-10 Championship
Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 Atlantic 10 Softball Championship, to be held at Bahoshy Field from May 9-12. Prices are $24 for adults and $12 for children under 17 and seniors over 65 for ALL sessions. Read more about it, 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 614-371 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 travel to St. John's for its final road contest of the regular season next Wednesday, May 2, at 3 p.m.
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!