Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team picked up its second straight Atlantic 10 sweep and first three-game series sweep with Sunday's wild 10-8 win over Saint Louis. It's the team's sixth straight win and fourth straight series victory to begin league action. With the win, the Rams improve to 18-20 overall and 11-3 in A-10 play, while the Billikens fall to 10-28 and 4-9, respectively.
"A gritty win overall today as Saint Louis battled all game," Head coach
Melissa Inouye said, "Aughie did a good job keeping them to two runs. We swung the bats well and did a good job running aggressively. Kylie continued to stay hot and came up with a big two-run double to give us enough of a lead to hang on for the sweep."
Kylie Michael finished the day 3-for-4 with the go-ahead run with her sixth-inning two-bagger. The senior backstop finishes the weekend with an .800 average and the week overall with a .688/.722/1.375 slash line overall over five contests.
Fordham never trailed on Sunday despite the score. The Rams scored once in each of the first two frames and went up 8-0 after a six-run fourth to threaten a run-rule win, but the Billikens staved it off with a pair of runs in the fifth and continued to rally with four runs in the sixth and two in the seventh. However, Michael's double provided the necessary breathing room.
The Rams loaded the bases in the first and
Maria Trivelpiece drew a two-out walk to plate the game's first run. Saint Louis threatened in the second when Kaylyn Breitbach doubled to lead off the frame and was sacrificed over to third but
Madie Aughinbaugh bounced back with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning, both looking.
Sarah Taffet led off the second with a single to right and advanced to third on a misplay by Lauren Lomax in the field, scoring moments later when
Deanna Burbridge singled through the left side. Aughinbaugh worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the third and again out of a jam in the fourth after a second Breitbach lead-off double.
The fourth frame provided plenty of offensive fireworks for the hosts. With one out,
Chelsea Skrepenak singled up the middle and stole second, moving to third when nobody covered the base and the throw from Alyssa Chavez behind the plate. Skrepenak scored on an error by Mackenzie Lawson at second on a grounder from
Jordy Storm and the Rams loaded the bases on a pair of singles by
Rachel Hubertus and
Molly Roark. Aughinbaugh helped her own cause with a booming opposite-field double to score two and Trivelpiece's groundout forced in another run before Michael smashed her third career home run and third in the last five days.
The Billikens rallied, however, with two singles and a double to begin the fifth, plating two. Burbridge singled to lead off the bottom half but was left stranded.
Makenzie McGrath came on in relief of Aughinbaugh but struggled, allowing four runs in the sixth. An error by Roark on the lead-off hitter Chavez led to a double, a RBI groundout, a pair of singles, a double, and a sacrifice fly before Maria Connell flied out to Skrepenak to end the threat.
Michael's double off the left field wall came after an Aughinbaugh infield single and an error by Connell on a Trivelpiece grounder. The hit put the hosts up, 10-6. Saint Louis put its first two runners on via singles but McGrath induced two foul outs before a two-run triple from Lauren Lomax fell in just past a diving Trivelpiece in right center. McGrath responded by inducing a game-ending groundout by Kat Lane.
Aughinbaugh picked up her 11
th win overall and seventh in conference action with five innings of two-run ball on six hits and no walks, with three strikeouts. Kallen Loveless took the loss with eight runs allowed, three earned, over four frames.
Michael led the way with three hits, falling a triple short of the cycle, while Aughinbaugh, Burbridge, Hubertus, and Skrepenak all notched two hits and at least one run scored. Nine different Rams scored at least one run, as well.
Fordham will next host Hofstra in nonconference action on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
