Arlington, Va. – (May 23, 2018) – The 2018 Atlantic 10 Championship continues on Thursday at George Washington's Tucker Field at Barcroft Park, and the first game of day two will feature the third-seeded Fordham Rams against the second-seeded George Mason Patriots.
Fordham (35-17-1, 16-8) finished the regular season tied for second in the Atlantic 10 with George Mason, but were seeded behind the Patriots based on a tie-breaker. The Rams advanced to day two courtesy of a 3-2 win over sixth-seeded VCU on Wednesday.
George Mason (27-25, 16-8) made it to the second day of the Championship after defeating seventh-seed George Washington, 11-3, on Wednesday. Starter Zach Mort improved to 6-3 on the season, after throwing seven innings of six-hit ball, while offensively Frank Sturek registered a pair of doubles and three RBI.
Probable Starters/Game Coverage
Fordham – RHP
Anthony DiMeglio (8-2, 3.41) vs. George Mason – RHP Bryce Nightengale (5-6, 3.73) //
Tournament Notes |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
A-10 Championship History
This is Fordham's 11
th Atlantic 10 Championship tournament appearance. The Rams have won the title once in 1998, and appeared in the championship game twice in 1998 and 2007. Overall, Fordham is 8-18 in the Atlantic 10 Championship, following Wednesday's win over VCU.
Series History
Fordham and George Mason have met 14 times previously with George Mason holding an 8-6 edge. Since George Mason joined the Atlantic 10, the Patriots are 5-4 against the Rams, but have never met in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
A-10 Awards
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its baseball major awards and All-Conference teams on Tuesday. Among those honored was freshman infielder
Jake MacKenzie, who was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Atlantic 10. MacKenzie was also selected to the All-Rookie Team with fellow freshmen
C.J. Vazquez and
Joseph Quintal, while sophomore outfielder
Billy Godrick was named to the Academic All-Conference Team.
Jake Baker is the latest Ram to reach 20 stolen bases.
Welcome to the Rotation
After being primarily a reliever over his first two seasons at Fordham, junior
Anthony DiMeglio has been a welcome addition to the Rams' weekend rotation, joining in mid-March. Since joining the rotation, DiMeglio has made 10 starts, posting a 7-1 record with a 2.87 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 59.2 innings pitched. He is holding opponents to a .229 batting average and walked only 17. Overall, he has set career-highs with eight wins, 74 innings pitched, and 88 strikeouts. His 88 strikeouts is currently the eighth-highest single season total in Fordham history.
Gotcha!
With the final out of the Rams' win over Saint Joseph's on April 29th being a strikeout, Fordham set the single team record for strikeouts with 415, breaking the mark of 414 set last season. It is the fourth consecutive season that the Rams have broken that record. In the team's next game against Hofstra, Fordham struck out 21 batters over 11 innings, tying the single game team record, which was originally set on March 31, 1909 by the duo of Chris Mahoney and Dick Egan, as they struck out 21 in a no-hitter over Bowdoin College. Currently, the Rams are at 523 strikeouts as a pitching staff, marking the first time Fordham has ever cracked 500 team strikeouts.
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 166 stolen bases, which marks the 11th time that Fordham has surpassed the 100-stolen base plateau in team history. The total currently stands as the new record at Fordham surpassing the old mark of the 157 stolen bases in 2008. The Rams rank first in the Atlantic 10 and first in the country in overall steals, while the team's 3.15 average is also tops in the nation. Individually, 11 Rams have at least one stolen bases this season and six are in double figures, and for the first time in team history four different Rams have at least 20.
