Baseball Hosts Rhode Island for A-10 Series

Bronx, N.Y. – (April 5, 2018) – Following Wednesday's offensive explosion, the Fordham baseball team returns to conference play this weekend, as they host the Rhode Island Rams at Houlihan Park, April 6-8.
 
Fordham (16-8-1, 2-1 A-10) enters the weekend on a high note after scoring a school record 29 runs on Wednesday and are now 13-5 since March 1^st.  Rhode Island (6-21, 0-6 A-10) has lost their four games, having been swept by Davidson last weekend.
 
Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Friday - Fordham – RHP Reiss Knehr (3-2, 3.37) vs. Rhode Island - RHP Matt Murphy (1-3, 2.72) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday – Fordham – RHP Ben Greenberg (3-1, 1.62) vs. Rhode Island - LHP Tyler Wilson (0-5, 3.79) // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday – Fordham – RHP Anthony DiMeglio (3-0, 4.13) vs. Rhode Island - TBA // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Series History
Fordham and Rhode Island have met 62 times since the first meeting back on May 3, 1913.  URI has the slight edge in the series at 33-29, after sweeping Fordham in Kingston last season.  Rhode Island earned wins by scores of 7-2, 5-3, and 7-3 in 10 innings.  Fordham's last win over Rhode Island came on April 17^th, 2016 at Houlihan Park.
 
Last Time Out
It was a record-setting performance from the Fordham baseball team on Wednesday night, as the Rams scored a school record 29 runs in a 29-1 victory over the Saint Peter's Peacocks at Houlihan Park.  The 29 runs breaks the previous mark of 28 by the Rams, set in 1981 against Fairleigh Dickinson and matched in 1997 against Saint Joseph's.  The 30 total runs scored between the two teams also tied a facility record at Houlihan Park, matching the 30 runs scored in an 18-12 win by Fordham over Manhattan in 2013.
 
After a scoreless first inning, Fordham opened the scoring with a five-run rally in the second, highlighted by a bases loaded double by Billy Godrick to score three runs. The Rams then added three runs in the fourth for an 8-0 lead on an RBI-single from Godrick, a ground out by Jake MacKenzie, and a wild pitch.
 
Fordham then broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring eight time to go up by a 16-0 count.  Reiss Knehr connected on a three-run home run to start the scoring, his first of the season, while Brian Goulard had a bases loaded triple to score three runs with Goulard scoring on an error on the play.
 
The Rams tacked on four runs in seventh and nine in the eighth to set the school record for runs scored in a game.  The record breaker came on an RBI-double to left by Justin Bardwell to score Nico Doria, who had a career day, going 3-for-4 with two walks, five runs scored, and two RBI.  Doria is the first Ram to score five runs in a game since P.J. Como at Florida Atlantic in 2009.
 
Fordham starter Brandon Martin (1-0) recorded the win, as he threw the first two innings, allowing two hits with two strikeouts.  John Stankiewicz and Kyle Martin each threw a hitless inning with two strikeouts, while Joseph Quintal, Brandon Nance, Anthony Zimmerman, and Mike Cowell each threw a scoreless inning of relief.

 
Besides Doria, Colton Snelling finished the game 4-for-6 for his first four-hit game with a double, three runs scored, three RBI, and a stolen base, while Knehr was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, three runs scored and three RBI.  Goulard and MacKenzie each had three RBI in the game with Godrick going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI.  Nick Labella, C.J. Vazquez, and Jake Baker each scored three runs with Bardwell and Casey Brown having two hits and two runs scored each.
 
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 95 stolen bases, which ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and first in the country, while the team's 3.80 average is also tops in the nation.  Individually, 11 Rams have at least one stolen bases this season and six are in double figures, led by Alvin Melendez with 18, which ranks fifth in the country, while his 0.82 per game average is #2 in the nation.
 
Who's Next
Following this weekend, the Rams are back in action on Wednesday, April 11^th, when the Rams host Siena for a 3:00 PM doubleheader at Houlihan Park.