Bronx, N.Y. – (April 8, 2018) – For the second straight day, the Fordham baseball team got a solid seven-inning outing from its starting pitcher and a three-hit game from
Brian Goulard, leading to another win over the Rhode Island Rams at Houlihan Park. After a 4-0 win yesterday, Fordham captured a 5-3 decision on Sunday to earn the series win.
With the win, Fordham improved to 18-9-1 overall, 4-2 in the Atlantic 10, while Rhode Island fell to 7-23 on the year, 1-8 in the league.
Fordham jumped out to the initial lead at 2-0 in the second inning on a two-run single by
Nick Labella, scoring
C.J. Vazquez and
Brian Goulard. Vazquez had reached on a fielder's choice, while Goulard singled to center. Both then advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Labella's single.
Rhode Island answered back with a pair of runs in the top of the third on an RBI-single by Kevin Heiss and an RBI-ground out by Jackson Coutts.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when Fordham regained the lead at 3-2. With one out, Vazquez was hit by a pitch, and moved to third on a single by Goulard. URI starter Taso Stathopoulos was then called for a balk, allowing Vazquez to score.
URI threatened to get that run back in the eighth with two runners on and two out, but Fordham reliever
Kyle Martin struck out Matt Daller to end the threat.
Goulard was again at the center of the Rams' scoring in the eighth, as Fordham picked up a pair of insurance runs for a 5-2 lead. Fordham loaded the bases with two outs on a single by
Billy Godrick and walks to Vazquez and Tarabek. Goulard followed with a two-run single through the right side to score Godrick and Tarabek.
Anthony DiMeglio
Rhode Island did put a ninth inning rally together against Martin, getting the tying run on base following a two-out RBI-single by Coutts. However, Martin got Laurence Hill to ground into a fielder's choice for the final out of the game.
Anthony DiMeglio (4-0) earned his fourth win of the season, as he tied his career-highs with seven innings pitched and nine strikeouts, while allowing two runs on seven hits. Martin recorded his fourth save of the year and second in as many days, posting two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of relief.
At the plate, Goulard was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base, while Labella was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Vazquez reached base twice and scored twice with Godrick going 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Wednesday, April 11
th, when the Rams host Siena for a doubleheader, beginning at 3:00 PM. Both games are scheduled to be seven-inning games.
