Baseball Pushes Win Streak to Five

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 9, 2019) – The Fordham baseball team used excellent pitching and timely hitting on Saturday, as the Rams extended their win streak to five games with victories over Iona and Hofstra at Houlihan Park.
 
With the two wins, Fordham is now 8-6 on the season.
 
In the first game on Saturday, John Stankiewicz and Anthony Zimmerman limited Iona to just five hits, while C.J. Vazquez was 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, as the Rams posted a 5-1 win over the Gaels.
 
Fordham took the initial lead with a three-run fourth inning.  Justin Bardwell opened the frame with a single and moved to second when Matt Tarabek was hit by a pitch.  After a pair of outs, Jake Guercio connected on a two-run single through the right side for the lead.  After a walk to Andy Semo, Guercio and Semo pulled off a double steal with Guercio then scoring on a single by Alvin Melendez for a 3-0 lead.
 
Iona cut the Fordham lead to 3-1 in the sixth, but the Rams got some insurance runs in the eighth, when C.J. Vazquez connected on a two-run home run to left, his first of the season to make it, 5-1.
 
That lead was enough for the Fordham pitching duo of John Stankiewicz and Anthony Zimmerman to secure Fordham's fourth straight win.  Stankiewicz (3-0) cruised through seven innings for the win, allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts, while Zimmerman earned his first save of the year, pitching two scoreless innings with a career-high five strikeouts.  Aside from Vazquez at the plate, Guercio was 1-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base, while Tarabek was 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored.

 
In the second game of the day, Matt Tarabek ripped a double down the left field line to score pinch-runner Jake Baker from first to give Fordham a 4-3 win over Hofstra and a five-game win streak.
 
Hofstra got out to a 2-0 lead by the fifth inning, as the Pride got solo home runs from Vito Friscia in the second and Vinnie Costello in the fifth.
 
The Rams cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a throwing error to make it, 2-1.  Fordham then scored twice in the seventh inning to take the lead, as the Rams loaded the bases with one out.  Alvin Melendez tied the game on a sacrifice fly to score Billy Godrick, while pinch runner Terrence Murray eventually scored on a wild pitch.
 
Hofstra did not go away, as they tied the game at three with a single run in the top of the eight on a bases loaded ground out.  The tie didn't last long as Bardwell and Tarabek put Fordham back on top, 4-3, in the bottom of the eighth.  Bardwell stared with a single to left center and was pinch-run for by Jake Baker.  Tarabek then laced a double down the left field line to score Baker from first base for the lead.
 
The Pride would have a final chance in the ninth to tie the game, getting a runner to third base.  However, Kyle Martin struck out the side in the ninth to secure the victory for Fordham.  Martin (1-1) got the win in relief, allowing one hit with three strikeouts in 1.2 inning of work.  Starter Joseph Quintal pitched well in a no-decision, allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings, while tying a career-high with nine strikeouts.  At the plate, Fordham had just four hits in the game with one each by Melendez, Bardwell, Tarabek, and Jason Coules.
 
Fordham concludes its home weekend on Sunday, March 10^th with another game against Hofstra.  Game time is now set for 2:00 PM, as rain is expected early in the day.