Baseball Hosts Hofstra in Mid-Week Contest

Bronx, N.Y. – (April 30, 2018) – Following a 4-0 week on the road, the Fordham baseball team will look to continue its winning ways at the friendly confines of Houlihan Park this week, starting with a Tuesday night game against the Hofstra Pride.
 
Fordham (27-14-1) is coming off its first Atlantic 10 series sweep of the season, as the Rams took all three games at Saint Joseph's this past weekend by scores of 11-1, 8-7 in 11 innings, and 4-1.  Hofstra (21-15) enters Tuesday on a hot streak as well, having won its last seven games with series sweeps of Charleston and William & Mary.
 
Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Fordham – LHP Matt Mikulski (2-4, 6.18) vs. Hofstra - RHP Sheamus Brazill (2-2, 4.19) // Live Stats | Live Video | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Series History
This will be the 74^th all-time meeting between the Rams and the Pride.  The series dates back to April 1, 1942 with Fordham leading the series 48-25.  The Rams have gotten the better of the series lately having won three in a row, including last year's contest at Hofstra by a score of 7-4.  Hofstra's last win came on March 19, 2014 by an 11-4 score in Hempstead.
 
Last Time Out
Behind a four-hit game from Justin Bardwell and a solid outing from the pitching duo of Anthony DiMeglio and Matt Mikulski, the Fordham Rams completed an Atlantic 10 series sweep of the Saint Joseph's Hawks by a score of 4-1 at Smithson Field on Sunday.
 
Saint Joseph's opened the scoring in the second, as Langston Livingston led off with a double and after a pair of out, Brian Markoski snuck a single by a diving Jake MacKenzie into right field for an RBI-single.
 
Fordham tied the game at one in the top of the fourth inning, as MacKenzie was hit by a pitch and scored on a double to right center by Matt Tarabek.  The Rams took the lead in the top of the fourth, when Billy Godrick singled through the left side, scoring C.J. Vazquez from second after a double.
 
Fordham added to the lead in the seventh and eighth inning, scoring once in both to make it a 4-1 game. In the seventh, Colton Snelling drove a two-out double to right center and scored on a single to right center by Jake Baker, while in the eighth, Bardwell doubled home MacKenzie, who singled and stole second.

That run support was enough for the Fordham pitching duo of Anthony DiMeglio and Matt Mikulski.  DiMeglio improved to 6-1 on the season, allowing one run over seven innings with six strikeouts, while Mikuski recorded his first career save, tossing two scoreless innings of relief.
 
At the plate, Bardwell was 4-for-4 with three doubles and an RBI, while MacKenzie was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base. 

Bardwell Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its set of weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham junior Justin Bardwell (Chino Hills, Calif.) being named the league's Player of the Week.  This is Bardwell's first career weekly award, and the second time this season a Ram has earned Player of the Week honor, joining Brian Goulard.
 
Bardwell extended his career-long hit streak to 10 games with a superb week, batting .647 (11-17) with an on-base percentage of .667 and slugging mark of 1.000.  He totaled four runs scored, six doubles, and six RBI over four games on the week. He kicked off his series against Saint Joseph's going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.  Bardwell then had a bases clearing double in Fordham's come-from-behind win on Saturday, finishing 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored, and three RBI, while he capped the weekend against the Hawks by going 4-for-4 with a career-high three doubles to go with an RBI.

 
For the season, Bardwell is tied for the Atlantic 10 lead in doubles with 16 with Saint Louis' Aaron Case, and is tied for 33^rd nationally.  He is also second on the Rams in batting average at .291 and RBI with 28.
 
We're Goin' Streakin'
Junior Justin Bardwell enters Tuesday on a ten-game hit streak, batting .474 (18-38) over that stretch with eight runs scored, eight doubles and eight RBI… Sophomore Billy Godrick is hitting .316 (12-38) in his last ten games with eight runs scored, four doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and four stolen bases… Junior Brian Goulard is hitting .306 in his last ten contests with five runs scored, four RBI, six walks, and three stolen bases… Freshman Jake MacKenzie had a fine month of April, batting .338 for the month with 19 runs scored, five doubles, three triples, five home runs, 20 RBI, and 11 stolen bases… Junior Reiss Knehr finished April with a 1.67 ERA in his last four starts with 23 strikeouts in 27.0 innings… Junior Anthony DiMeglio ended April with a 3-1 mark in four starts with a 3.16 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 25.2 innings… Senior Ben Greenberg was 3-0 in four April starts with a 3.41 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 29 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 134 stolen bases in 42 games, which marks the 11^th time that Fordham has surpassed the 100-stolen base plateau in team history.  The total currently stands third all-time at Fordham behind only the 157 stolen bases in 2008 and the 141 in 1991.  The Rams rank first in the Atlantic 10 and first in the country in overall steals, while the team's 3.19 average is also tops in the nation.  Individually, 11 Rams have at least one stolen bases this season, six are in double figures, and for just the fourth time in program history three players have 20 or more.
 
Who's Next
Following the Hofstra game, the Fordham baseball team hosts Dayton for a three-game Atlantic 10 series, May 4-6, at Houlihan Park.