Bronx, N.Y. – (March 23, 2019) – Fordham's
John Stankiewicz struck out a career-high ten batters over six innings of work to lead the Rams to an 8-1 baseball win over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at Houlihan Park on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Fordham has won four in a row, improving its record to 14-9 on the season, 2-0 in the Atlantic 10, while St. Bonaventure fell to 2-11 on the year, 0-2 in the league.
Fordham put the game away early with a seven-run first inning off St. Bonaventure starter Braydon Nelson. The inning started with
Alvin Melendez reaching first on a dropped third strike and moving to second on a walk to
C.J. Vazquez. Melendez and Vazquez were then on the move on a wild pitch with Melendez scoring from second for a 1-0 lead.
Jake MacKenzie then plated Vazquez with a single to right.
After a pair of stolen bases by MacKenzie,
Justin Bardwell drew a walk and stole second.
Matt Tarabek then reached on an infield single, allowing MacKenzie to score.
Nick Labella followed with an RBI-single through the left side for a 4-0 lead.
Jake Guercio then drew a walk to load the bases.
After an out,
Jake Baker drew a walk to force in a run, while Melendez plated a runner with an infield single. The final run of the first inning came on Guercio scoring on a wild pitch.
Nick Labella
The score stayed at 7-0 until the seventh, when Fordham added an insurance run on a St. Bonaventure error.
The Bonnies broke up the shutout bid in the eighth inning, as St. Bonaventure loaded the bases and got an RBI-ground out by Jake Foden.
It was another stellar performance for the Fordham pitching staff, led by starter
John Stankiewicz. He allowed just one hit over six innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Marc Bisogno and
Anthony DiMeglio each chipped in a scoreless inning of relief with
Brian Weissert allowing the lone Bonnies' run in his one inning of work.
At the plate, Guercio was 3-for-4 on the afternoon with a run scored and a stolen base, while Labella was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. MacKenzie finished 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored, and two stolen bases.
The same two teams will wrap up their conference series on Sunday with a noon game.