Princess Anne, Md. – Behind a five-run fifth inning and five inning of scoreless relief by
Gabriel Karslo, the Fordham Rams topped the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks, 7-2, in the opening game of a four-game series at Perdue Stadium in Princess Anne, Maryland.
With the win, Fordham improved to 3-5 on the year, while Maryland Eastern Shore fell to 1-8.
Both teams struggled to find their footing in the game defensively, as rain earlier in the day caused some awkward field conditions.
Maryland Eastern Shore benefitted from one of those errors in the bottom of the second inning, scoring a pair of unearned runs after a Fordham error to go up by a 2-0 score.
Fordham reciprocated by taking advantage of four Hawk errors in the fifth inning to take a 5-2 lead. With runners at second and third after a pair of errors, the Rams got on the board with an RBI-single by
Jake Guercio. After a stolen base by Guercio,
Jake MacKenzie connected on a two-run single through the left side to put Fordham on top 3-2. MacKenzie later scored on a passed ball to make it, 4-2.
Alvin Melendez kept the rally going with a single and a stolen base, followed by an RBI-single from
Matt Tarabek.
Justin Machado
Fordham then tacked on single runs in the seventh and ninth innings for the 7-2 final score.
The cushion was enough for Fordham pitcher
Gabriel Karslo, who was almost perfect out of the Fordham bullpen to earn his first collegiate win. He threw five scoreless innings, allowing just four hits with five strikeouts in relief of Melendez. Melendez went the first four innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits with four strikeouts. At the plate, Guercio was 3-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases, while
Justin Machado was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
The same two teams match-up for a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at noon.
