Baseball Hosts Saint Peter's on Wednesday

Bronx, N.Y. – (April 3, 2018) – After finishing the month of March with a 12-5 record, the Fordham baseball team looks to continue their strong play on Wednesday, when the Saint Peter's Peacocks return to Houlihan Park for the second time this season.  The game has been moved from its original time to a 6:00 PM start due to weather.   Saint Peter's visited the Rams last Tuesday, as Fordham posted an 18-0 win over the Peacocks, as five Ram pitchers combined for the one-hit shutout.
 
Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Fordham – RHP Brandon Martin (0-0, 0.00) vs. Saint Peter's – TBA // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Series History
The will be the 51^st all-time meeting between the Rams and the Peacocks with the series dating back to April 6, 1935.  Fordham holds a 41-9 advantage and are 6-1 against Saint Peter's over the last six seasons.  Prior to the win last week, Fordham swept a doubleheader from the Peacocks last year on April 6^th by scores of 5-2 and 7-5.  Saint Peter's last win in the series was a 2-0 victory on March 12^th, 2016.
 
Last Time Out
The Fordham baseball team split a Saturday doubleheader with the Manhattan College Jaspers to take two of three games in the "Battle of the Bronx" series at Houlihan Park.  Manhattan opened the doubleheader with a 2-0 shutout of the Rams, while Fordham pulled out a 9-1 win in game two.
 
In game one, Matt Simonetti allowed five hits over seven innings with nine strikeouts, while T.J. Stuart recorded a six-out save, as Manhattan shut out Fordham, 2-0.
 
The Jaspers scored runs in the fourth and ninth innings on an RBI-single by Matt Padre and a bases loaded walk to Paul Genners.  Fordham had multiple chances to score, as the Rams left 10 runners on base and finished the game 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

 
The Jaspers win spoiled an excellent pitching effort from Fordham's duo of Ben Greenberg and Brian Weissert.  Greenberg (3-1) took his first loss of the season, allowing one run on three hits and tied a career-high with seven strikeouts, while Weissert gave up one run on two hits over four innings with a career-high six strikeouts.  At the plate, Billy Godrick was 2-for-5 with two stolen bases with Reiss Knehr going 2-for-4.  The remaining two hits for Fordham were doubles by Justin Bardwell and Justin Machado.
 
In game two, Fordham used a pair of offensive outbursts in the third and sixth innings, while Anthony DiMeglio allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings, as the Rams took the rubber game from the Jaspers, 9-1.
 
In the third, Fordham had runners at second and third with one out after a walk, a hit by pitch, and three stolen bases.  Jake Baker then scored on a passed ball with Billy Godrick moving to third.  Jake MacKenzie then walked and stole second to put two runners in scoring position for Matt Tarabek.  Tarabek then lined a single up the middle to score both runners.
 
After a solo home run by Fabian Pena made it 3-1 Fordham, the Rams took advantage of two Manhattan errors to make it a 7-1 game, highlighted by a two-run single by Machado.  The Rams then closed out the scoring with two runs in the seventh, capped by an RBI-single by Bardwell.

Anthony DiMeglio (3-0) posted his best start of the season in the win, throwing a career-long seven innings, giving up just one run on two hits with eight strikeouts and no walks.  Kyle Martin and Brandon Martin then closed out the game with a scoreless inning each.
 
Offensively, Fordham stole nine bases in the game and finished the weekend 17-for-18 in that department.  Tarabek finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while MacKenzie scored two runs on two walks and had four stolen bases.  Jake Baker also had two runs to go with three stolen bases in the game. 

March Madness
Plenty of Rams had big months of March, as Fordham went 12-5 in the month.  Sophomore Matt Tarabek led the offense, hitting .348 with 13 runs scored, 13 RBI, and nine stolen bases, while sophomore Billy Godrick batted .319 with 15 runs scored, seven RBI, and 11 stolen bases.  On the hill, sophomore reliever Kyle Martin did not allow an earned run in nine relief appearances, recording two wins and a save with a .086 opponent batting average, while the Rams' weekend rotation of Reiss Knehr, Ben Greenberg, and Anthony DiMeglio combined to go 8-2 with a 2.71 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 79.2 innings.
 
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 87 stolen bases, which ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and first in the country, while the team's 3.63 average is also tops in the nation.  Individually, ten Rams have at least one stolen bases this season and six are in double figures, led by Alvin Melendez with 18, which ranks fourth in the country, while his 0.82 per game average is #2 in the nation.
 
Who's Next
The Rams are next in action on April 6-8, as the Rams host Rhode Island for a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Houlihan Park.