Baseball Splits Doubleheader with North Florida

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Jacksonville, Fla. – (February 23, 2019) – A three-run seventh inning for Fordham broke a 5-5 tie, while Anthony Zimmerman and Gabriel Karslo combined for four scoreless innings of relief, as the Rams won game one of a doubleheader, 8-5, over the North Florida Ospreys at Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.  Game two saw the roles reverse, as the Ospreys scored twice in the fifth inning to snap a 4-4 tie en route to a 7-4 win over Fordham in seven innings.
 
With the split, Fordham moves to 1-5 on the season, while North Florida goes to 5-2.
 
In game one, the Rams started out fast, scoring once in the first and twice in the third for a 3-0 lead.  Jake MacKenzie opened the game with a single and a stolen base, and then scored after a pair of ground outs.  Then in the third, MacKenzie singled home Jake Baker, who reached on a single and stole second.  MacKenzie later scored on an RBI-single by Matt Tarabek for a 3-0 lead.
 
The two teams then exchanged runs over the next few innings with the score tied at five after six innings.  Fordham's two run came on another RBI-single from MacKenzie and a solo home run by Nick Labella, his second of the year.
 
Fordham then scored three runs in the seventh to take an 8-5 lead.  Alvin Melendez got the rally started with a one-out double and scored on a single by Tarabek.  Labella followed with a double down the right field line to score Tarabek.  Labella later scored on a pair of wild pitches.
 
The bullpen duo of Anthony Zimmerman and Gabriel Karslo were able to keep the Ospreys at bay for the remainder of the game.  Zimmerman (1-0) earned the win in relief, tossing two innings of two-hit relief, while Karslo recorded his first collegiate save with two hitless innings of relief.  Starter Joseph Quintal went the first 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts.

 
At the plate, MacKenzie went 4-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBI, and a stolen base, while Tarabek was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two stolen bases.  Baker went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base with Labella going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two RBI.
 
In game two, Fordham exploded out of the gate with a four-run first inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Justin Bardwell, his first of the season.
 
The Ospreys battled back with two runs in the first and second innings to tie the game at four, highlighted by RBI-singles from Tanner May and Tanner Murphy.
 
The scored stayed that way until the fifth, when the Ospreys picked up two runs on an RBI-single Austin Hurwitz and a wild pitch to go up by two, 6-4.  North Florida added to the lead with a single run in the sixth on an RBI-double from Jay Prather, which allowed Murphy to score after he had doubled for the 7-4 final score.
 
For Fordham, Marc Bisogno (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits over three innings of relief.  Starter Anthony DiMeglio went the first two innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.  At the plate, Tarabek was 2-for-3, while Bardwell was 1-for 2 with a home run and three RBI.
 
The two teams wrap up their series on Sunday at 1:00 PM.