Softball Hosts George Mason for Three-Game Series this Weekend

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (16-17, 5-1 A-10) are back in Atlantic 10 action this weekend after a pair of nonconference match-ups in midweek. The Rams will welcome George Mason (11-20, 2-4 A-10) for a three-game series over the next two days, starting with a noon doubleheader on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start time for Sunday's series finale.  
 
Ways to follow all the action are available via the links above. Inclement weather is possible on both days so please watch FordhamSports.com and @FordhamSoftball on Twitter for the latest updates.
 
Last Time Out
Both Madie Aughinbaugh and Chelsea Skrepenak continued their torrid pace over the last three weeks with terrific outings during Thursday's 4-0 shutout of Binghamton at Bahoshy Field. Aughinbaugh tossed her fourth shutout in the last 10 games, a three-hit, no-walk gem with six strikeouts, while Skrepenak went 4-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI hits, including a triple. The Rams offense scored in three separate innings, while both Deanna Burbridge and Jordy Storm also enjoyed multi-hit games. Aughinbaugh took a perfect game into the fourth frame where she allowed two of her three singles on the day but worked out of trouble.
 
Series History vs. George Mason
Fordham leads the all-time series with the Patriots, 12-4, since the 1995 season. Mason joined the Atlantic 10 in 2014. Prior to that, the two schools met four times and split them. Fordham won the first, 4-2, on neutral ground but the Patriots rebounded with an 8-0 win. The Rams were victorious, 1-0, in 1999 but fell, 2-1, in 2004. The Patriots took the rivalry's first conference contest, 3-2, in the Bronx but Fordham rattled off 10 straight wins between then and last year. Playing in Fairfax a year ago, the Rams won the first two contests, 5-3, in nine innings, and 5-2 during a double header, but fell in the series finale, 2-1, the most recent game in the series.
 
Last 10 Games
The Rams have been hot in recent weeks since a slow start to the campaign. Since the start of the Fordham Tournament three weeks ago, Fordham has enjoyed a 10-3 record to move within one game of .500. Over that span, several players have really stepped up to get the team to this point. In the circle, Madie Aughinbaugh has been sensational, conjuring a 7-0 record in eight appearances, five starts, with four shutouts and a sterling 1.23 ERA over 40.0 innings. During that time, she has allowed 36 hits, just five walks, and punched out 38. Paige Rauch has also been steady, making four appearances, three starts, around an injury to post a 1-0 record with a 1.88 ERA over 18.2 frames.
 
At the plate, five starters have hit .300 or better. Leading the charge has been Skrepenak, who has upped her average to an even .400 heading into the weekend, has slashed .500/.561/.833 with a team-leading three home runs, coming in three straight games, and 12 runs batted in. She's notched a team-high 18 hits and is second with 11 runs, plus has one more walk than strikeout, 5 to 4. Two others who have started all 10 games, Burbridge and Rauch, are also excelling with averages of .355 and .353, respectively. Burbridge has 11 hits and five runs, while Rauch has a team-high 13 runs, a double, a pair of triples, a home run, and nine RBIs, plus an even 6/6 K/BB ratio. Jordy Storm and Maria Trivelpiece have also chipped in, as well, with averages of .444 and .391, respectively. Trivelpiece has four runs and a 1/7 K/BB ratio.
 
NCAA Ranks
As a team, the Rams rank within the top-100 in three categories: home runs per game, triples per game, and strikeout-to-walk ratio. Fordham averages 0.79 dingers per contest, 0.21 triples per contest, and a 2.08 K/BB ratio. At the individual level, a few Rams are within the top-100. Rauch has been excellent at the plate to begin her Fordham career and ranks 19th with four triples, 24th with 1.00 run scored per contest, and 30th with 0.70 walks per game. Skylar Johnston's 0.33 doubles per game average ranks 49th and Madi Shaw's 0.25 home runs per game clip sits 74th. In the circle, Aughinbaugh's 5.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 25th in the country, while the sophomore is tied for tops in all of Division… with just one hit batter all year, tied with 14 others. Rauch's 1.89 ERA has her 100th in the nation, while her 5.07 hits allowed per seven innings ranks 72nd.
 
Atlantic 10 Ranks
The above team ranks nationally also rank second, fourth, and third, respectively in-conference, plus the team's 3.31 ERA ranks third-best in the A-10. Skrepenak's .400 average ranks fourth and both her .457 on-base percentage (5th) and Rauch's .440 (10th) sit within the top-10. Rauch's .596 slugging percentage ranks eighth. Johnston sits in a tie for first with 11 doubles, while Rauch is the lone A-10 player to walk 20 or more times (23). Her four triples are also second-most and her 33 runs scored are third-most. Aughinbaugh's nine wins are tied for second-most behind Saint Louis' Madie Baalman as are her 96.0 innings pitched. Her 69 strikeouts rank fifth and her 3.28 ERA sits 12th.
 
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 606-371 record in the Bronx.
 
Aughinbaugh Named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week
The sophomore earned her first honor of the season after leading Fordham to three victories three weekends ago in the circle. Aughinbaugh made four appearances, including three starts, all of which she went the distance in. For the weekend, the Port Tobacco, Md. native compiled a 1.07 ERA over 19.2 innings with 20 strikeouts, with wins over UMass-Lowell, Seton Hall, and Detroit Mercy. Read more about it, here.

Rauch Named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week
Paige Rauch previously took home the program's first piece of hardware four weeks ago when she was named Rookie of the Week. She slashed .357/.500/1.000 at the plate with a pair of solo home runs, a team-high five walks and runs scored, and four runs driven in, and made four appearances in the circle, three starts, and walked away with a 3-1 record, allowing just six runs, five earned, on 13 hits and 10 walks across 21.2 innings (1.62 ERA), while striking out 14. Read more about Rauch's weekend, here.
 
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.
 
Keeping up with the Record Book
As mentioned, 17 school records were broken or tied last year. Quense and Shaw continue their climbs up the all-time lists in their final campaigns in maroon and white. Check it all out, here.
 
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 play at Iona on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. before heading to Rhode Island for a three-game series next weekend.
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!