Softball Faces Off with #11 LSU to Begin Baton Rouge Regional

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team secured its sixth straight Atlantic 10 championship by winning all three of its contests at Bahoshy Field last weekend and, for a sixth straight year, the Rams are headed to NCAA Regionals. Fordham drew the Baton Rouge Regional and will first play #11 LSU and then either Houston or Louisiana-Lafayette the following day.  
 
Every contest this weekend will be featured on ESPN3. You can also follow along via WFUV radio, live stats, and twitter updates via the links above.
 
Last Time Out
After earning a first-round bye as the #2 overall seed, the Rams powered their way through three contests to clinch their sixth consecutive Atlantic 10 championship. Fordham first downed six-seeded George Washington, 8-0, in five innings before dispatching top-seeded Massachusetts, 4-1, on Friday and, 6-4, in Saturday's final, never trailing along the way. Led by tournament MVP Madie Aughinbaugh, who started all three games and led the team with five hits and five runs scored at the plate, Fordham clinched its sixth straight NCAA Regional appearance.
 
After tallying just one hit over the opening two frames, the offense came alive in the third inning against the Colonials as Paige Rauch and Madi Shaw each doubled in a run before Chelsea Skrepenak smoked a two-run bomb to dead center to give the hosts a 4-0 lead. An inning later against left-handed Kaitlyn Buff with the bases loaded and nobody out, head coach Bridget Orchard opted for left-handed Jordy Storm to pinch hit for Brianna Pinto and the junior smashed a no-doubt grand slam to right for her first collegiate home run, capping the scoring for the day at eight. Aughinbaugh allowed seven hits over her five frames with no walks and two strikeouts.
 
Aughinbaugh kept up her momentum against top A-10 rivals UMass, limiting the Minutewomen to just one run on six hits and a walk over seven innings, as the offense broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth to take the lead for good. Skylar Johnston began the scoring by singling Madi Shaw home in the third but UMass answered immediately with a RBI single of their own. Fordham wasted no time in responding, as well, as freshman Brianna Pinto chopped a single over the head of the shortstop to score Aughinbaugh and, later in the frame, Rauch walked with the bases loaded. Rauch later added a solo home run in the sixth.
 
Needing just one win on Saturday, the Rams captured the title with another offensive outburst, racking up a six-run advantage before the Minutewomen could respond. The offenses started out slowly as Aughinbaugh and Meg Colleran went toe-to-toe but Rauch kicked things off with a solo home run in the fourth, her team-leading 16th of the season. Junior Deanna Burbridge tacked on a second run later in the frame with two outs. An inning later, the bases became loaded with nobody out for graduate student Lauren Quense in her final appearance at Bahoshy Field. Quense promptly drove a pitch out of the yard for her second round-tripper of the season, both grand slams, to gift the "visitors" a 6-0 lead. Aughinbaugh began to tire in the fifth, allowing a two-run home run to A-10 Player of the Year Jena Cozza and was replaced by Rauch in the circle. Despite walking four batters and allowing two runs in the sixth on a throwing error and a bases-loaded intentional walk to Cozza, Rauch closed out the game to secure her second save of the year and the championship.
 
Tournament History
The Rams now hold a 35-21 (.625) record in conference tournaments since they joined the Atlantic 10 in 1995. During the current six-year run of championships, Fordham holds a 20-3 record since 2013. The Rams have now hosted the championship on four occasions – in 2005, 2009, 2014, and 2018 winning in the latter two occasions. Massachusetts won in the other two years, defeating Fordham in the final in 2005 and Saint Joseph's in 2009.
 
Four Named to All-Championship Team
Aughinbaugh rightfully earned Most Outstanding Player honors for having a 3-0 record and 1.65 ERA over 17 innings and hitting .556 with a team-high five hits and four runs, making the All-Championship team for a second straight season. Also doing so was Madi Shaw, who went 4-for-8 with a tournament-high four doubles plus three runs, two walks, and one stolen base. Making their first appearances on the All-Tournament team were Rauch and junior Chelsea Skrepenak. Rauch went 4-for-9 with three extra-base hits (two solo home runs), four runs batted in, three runs, two walks, and the aforementioned save. Skrepenak tallied a pair of hits, one a two-run home run, two runs, a walk, and a stolen base, plus her typical outstanding defense in center field.
 
Rauch Named A-10 Rookie of the Year, Skrepenak, Shaw, and Aughinbaugh Named All-Conference
The Rams were once again well-represented on the A-10's end-of-season awards list and the program has its sixth Rookie of the Year in Paige Rauch. She also became the second student-athlete to be named All-Conference as both a pitcher and a position player and the first to be named First Team for both (Fordham's Rachel Gillen was named Second Team as a designated player in 2015). Chelsea Skrepenak earned First Team All-Conference recognition and both Shaw and Aughinbaugh landed on the Second Team at shortstop and pitcher, respectively. Shaw and Skrepenak also earned All-Academic distinction. Read more about the awards HERE.
 
Rauch, Aughinbaugh Named NFCA All-Region
For the 11th straight year, Fordham has earned NFCA All-Mid Atlantic honors. It is also the eighth time in the past nine seasons there's been at least one player on the First Team. Paige Rauch was named to the First Team as a utility/pitcher while Madie Aughinbaugh was named to the Third Team. It is the first such honors for both.
 
Rauch Named Top 25 Finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year
Paige Rauch has been a steady force at the top of the Fordham lineup and in the circle and was recently named A-10 Rookie of the Year for her performance. Earlier this season, Rauch was named one of the 25 best freshmen in the country. Rauch has slashed .311/.454/.714 with a team-leading 16 home runs, 44 RBIs, 40 walks, and 51 runs scored, and is 14-2 with a 1.55 ERA over 23 appearances and 14 starts.
 
Pinto Named Co-Rookie of the Week
Breanna Pinto was named A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week last Monday after hitting .583 over the past week.  It is the Franklin Square, N.Y. native's first league honor. For the season, Pinto is hitting .280 with 25 runs scored and a team-high 13 stolen bases. Read more about her week, HERE.
 
NCAA Ranks
As a team, the Rams rank within the top-100 in five categories: Fordham averages 1.06 dingers per contest (19^th) and 5.43 runs per game (41^st) and has a .446 slugging percentage (60^th), a 2.36 K/BB ratio (56^th), and a 2.88 team ERA (84^th). At the individual level, a few Rams are within top-100's. Rauch ranks 20^th with 0.75 walks per game, 35^th in the nation with 0.94 runs per game, 21^st with five triples, 39^th with 14 home runs, 84^th with a .680 slugging percentage, and 74^th with 104 total bases. Her 1.58 ERA also sits 40^th nationally and second in the A-10. Johnston is tied with her for home runs and above her, at 56^th, with 109 total bases. Shaw's 13 home runs rank 48^th. In the circle, Aughinbaugh's 4.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 26^th in the country, while her 0.98 walks allowed per seven innings ranks 11^th.
 
Program Ranks
Shaw and Quense continue to be mainstays throughout the record books for hitting and pitching, respectively, with the former recently past Sydney Canessa for third all-time with 157 RBIs. Shaw is top-three in all of the triple slash line categories and is now up to fourth with 39 home runs and seventh with 86 walks. Quense, meanwhile, sits within the top-three of several pitching categories and most recently entered the top-five with her 35^th career complete game at Iona. She's also become just the third Ram to make 100 starts. Aughinbaugh has enjoyed a tremendous two seasons in maroon and white and recently joined the top-10 for wins, now solo eighth with 34 career victories, just moved past Quense for career shutouts, with 11, now tied with Chelsea Plimpton for fifth all-time, and just entered the all-time top-10 for strikeouts, with 186. The sophomore, among pitchers with 200 or more innings, is also sixth all-time with a 2.43 ERA. With her two solo home runs last weekend, Rauch is up to 16 on the year, tied for third-most in a single campaign with Erin Fisher (2010) and Jocelyn Dearborn (2011). She's just the fourth Ram to hit 16 or more in a single season. Check out the softball record book HERE.
 
Slugging Trio
This is the fourth time a Rams team has featured three players with double-digit home runs and is the first time that three players have at least 13 round-trippers on the year. With her two solo home runs at the A-10 Championship, Rauch now leads the team with 16 round-trippers on the year with Johnston behind her at 14 and Shaw at 13. The trio have now tied the record set in 2014 by Elise Fortier (20) current assistant coach Gabby Luety (13), and Kayla Lombaro (10) for the most by a trio in a single campaign, with 43.
 
Patience Is a Virtue
Last year's team set program records for walks (269) and on-base percentage (.409) and walked more than they struck out (262). This year's team is striking out far more (344) but should become just the second team to ever reach 200 walks in a season, currently situated at 195 with a .372 OBP. Rauch ranks 22nd in Division 1 with 0.74 walks per contest, followed by Shaw, who averages 0.59 per game (75th).
 
Thriving in Conference Play
Skylar Johnston began her freshman season slowly, hitting .194 over her first 26 starts with just two extra-base hits. Once conference play began, Johnston hit .451 and ended up First Team All-Conference. This year, there was no slow start but there was an uptick once league action began again. The sophomore slashed .361/.432/.639 against A-10 opponents with a team-high 26 hits and 20 runs plus six home runs, 13 RBI, and a 5/9 K/BB ratio. Leading the way in batting, albeit in limited action, has been freshman Brianna Pinto, who was recently given an every-game starting role at second base. Pinto is hitting .406 with 16 runs and nine stolen bases over 20 games and 11 starts. Senior Madi Shaw is slashing .318/.551/.864 with eight home runs, 17 RBI, 15 runs, and a team-high 20 walks. Rauch joins Shaw with the team lead of eight home runs and has driven in a team-high 20 teammates, scoring 19 times and drawing 14 walks. As a team, the Rams are slashing .296/.389/.507 with 137 runs (compared to opponents' 51), 31 home runs (6), 124 runs driven in (44), 80 walks (33), and 32 stolen bases in 34 chances (7-11). In the circle, Aughinbaugh and Rauch combined for an incredibly formidable 1-2 punch, combining to allow just 17 earned runs over 116.2 frames. The duo tallied a 17-2 record with 13 complete games and seven shutouts.
 
Skrepenak Swears Into the U.S. Army
Junior Chelsea Skrepenak has been a member of the Fordham University ROTC since her freshman year, when she noticed cadets training on her way to early morning fall practices. The Dallas, Pa. native signed up to serve our country and, before the series finale against Massachusetts on April 29, she was sworn in to the United States Army during a ceremony in front of the team, fans, family, and friends. Cadet Skrepenak will graduate a year from now as a 2nd Lieutenant.
 
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 620-375 record in the Bronx.
 
Win Number 800
It goes to show how successful Orchard has been as the program reaches 800 wins dating back to 1985 that she has recently reached 600 with the Rams. The program saw its 800th victory on Thursday in the 8-0 five-inning win over George Washington in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Championship and now has a record of 802-806-4 with a .499 win percentage.
 
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
Check the bracket up above for all of Fordham's possibilities going forward.  
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!