Lafayette, La. – The Fordham softball team wrapped up the Ragin' Cajuns Classic on Saturday with a 10-2 win over Incarnate Word and a 9-0 loss to RV/RV California. With the day's results, the Rams finish their opening weekend with a 3-2 record.
"This weekend gave us a good idea of where we're at, some good things and things we need to work on," Head coach
Melissa Inouye said, "We're looking forward to a few days of practice to work out some kinks before we hit the road again."
For a third straight day, the Rams kicked off the day's action and, for a third straight game, Fordham was victorious. The Rams dropped Incarnate Word for a second time, scoring the go-ahead run in the first inning.
Chelsea Skrepenak led off with a walk and moved to third on a double by classmate
Jordy Storm, then scored on
Madie Aughinbaugh's infield single, the first of her career-high-matching runs batted in in the game.
Rachel Hubertus plated the go-ahead run with a single through the left side, scoring Storm, two batters later. The Cardinals responded with one run in the bottom of the frame off
Anne Marie Prentiss on a double and a throwing error following a sacrifice bunt, but Prentiss was able to avoid further damage, working out of a two-out bases-loaded situation.
Fordham plated four runs in the second; The Rams loaded the bases with no outs and a fielding error scored the first two runs. Aughinbaugh plated Skrepenak after with a sacrifice fly and
Maria Trivelpiece drove in
Molly Roark with a two-out single to center.
Deanna Burbridge drove in
Sarah Taffet, who led off with a single, her first career hit, to begin the third and scored on an Aughinbaugh double to right centerfield. The Rams capped their scoring with two more runs in the seventh on a Skrepenak single, scoring Taffet, who notched a second leadoff double two batters earlier, and another Aughinbaugh sac fly.
Prentiss allowed just the lone run on one hit and a pair of walks over two frames before giving way to freshman
Makenzie McGrath, making her collegiate debut. McGrath picked up the win in relief, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts over four innings of work.
The offense struggled in game two against California, with two singles by Skrepenak and one by Hubertus accounting for all of the damage. Aughinbaugh made the start and suffered the loss with seven runs allowed, six earned, over six frames before giving way to McGrath, who allowed two runs, one earned, in the seventh.
Hubertus, Skrepenak, and Taffet paced the offense with three hits apiece on the day, the latter two each scoring three times. Skrepenak also walked twice. Burbridge, Storm, and Trivelpiece each notched a pair of hits, as well.
Fordham is back on the road this upcoming week for UNLV's Boyd Gaming Rebel Classic. The Rams will play BYU and UNLV at 4 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET, respectively, on Thursday, February 14
th.
