Amherst, Mass. – (May 13, 2018) – After staying inside on Saturday due to weather, the Fordham bats were ready to go on Sunday afternoon at Earl Lorden Field. Fordham's
Nick Labella hit a pair of home runs, while
Brian Goulard drove in three, as the Rams held off a late UMass rally to complete a three-game sweep of the Minutemen, 10-8.
With the sweep, Fordham improved to 33-15-1 on the year, 15-6 in the Atlantic 10, while UMass fell to 14-26 overall, 5-16 in the league. The win was Fordham's fifth straight overall and eighth consecutive conference road win. It also clinched a playoff spot for the Rams at the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be in Arlington, Virginia, May 23-26.
Fordham got out of the gates early, scoring three times in the first inning for a 3-0 edge. With two outs and runners at first and second,
Brian Goulard and
Matt Tarabek connected on back-to-back RBI-singles for a 2-0 edge. After a walk loaded the bases,
Nick Labella drew another walk to force in another run and a three-run lead.
The Rams made it 4-0 in the second, as
Alvin Melendez ripped an RBI-double to left center, scoring
Billy Godrick, who was hit by a pitch.
Fordham continued to add to its lead with two runs in the third for a 6-0 advantage.
Nick Labella connected on a solo home run to center for his second of the season, while
Jake MacKenzie singled home Godrick from second, after he reached on an error and stole second.
The score stayed that way until the sixth, when UMass netted a pair of runs on an RBI-single by Cooper Mrowka and a sacrifice fly by Nolan Kessinger, making it a 6-2 ballgame.
Alvin Melendez had three hits and two stolen bases on Sunday.
Fordham got one of those run back in the sixth, as Melendez singled and moved to third on a double by
Justin Bardwell. Goulard hit a ground ball up the middle, which couldn't be fielded cleanly, allowing Melendez to score to make it, 7-2. Goulard then picked up his third RBI of the game, as he singled home Melendez in the eighth for an 8-2 lead. Labella made it 10-2 in the ninth, as he hit his second home run of the game, this time a two-run blast to left.
The Minutemen did not make it easy in the bottom of ninth, scoring six times and getting the winning run to the plate. However,
Kyle Martin struck out Matt Hosman to end the game for his tenth save of the season, becoming just the third Ram ever to reach double-digit saves, joining Bobby Aylmer (13 – 1988) and Chris Kaible (10 – 2008) in that exclusive group.
Anthony DiMeglio improved to 8-1 on the year, allowing two runs over the first five innings with six strikeouts. At the plate, Labella was 3-for-3 with two home runs, two walks, two runs scored, and four RBI, while Goulard was 2-for-5 with three RBI. Melendez also had a big day, going 3-for-6 with a double, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and an RBI.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Thursday, May 17
th, when the Rams return home to Houlihan Park to start their final Atlantic 10 series of the season against the Richmond Spiders. It will be Field Trip Day as a number of local Bronx schools will be in attendance for the noon contest.
