Softball Hosts Hofstra on Wednesday Afternoon

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (18-20, 11-3 A-10) will take a five-game win streak into Wednesday's nonconference tilt against Hofstra (18-20, 5-7 CAA). First pitch from Bahoshy Field is set for 3 p.m.
 
Fans can watch on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats via the links above.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams returned home to host Saint Louis and swept the Billikens over three games this past weekend. Fordham walked off winners in the eighth inning of the series opener before erupting for 11 runs in a five-inning game-two victory. The series finale was just as thrilling as the Rams held on for a wild 10-8 win. Senior backstop Kylie Michael enjoyed a career week to take home Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors, batting .800 (8-for-10) in the series with a team-high eight hits, eight RBIs, two home runs, and two doubles over the weekend. The team, as a whole, batting .398 against the Billikens, while Madie Aughinbaugh won both of her starts and allowed just five runs, two earned, over 13.0 frames, good for a 1.08 ERA.
 
The Rams and Billikens traded leads five times in game one capped off with Deanna Burbridge's walk-off single in the eighth. Maria Trivelpiece walked, moved to second on an error, was sacrificed over to third, and Burbridge smacked a single to center to end the game. Saint Louis scored three runs in the first inning of game two against Gigi Speer, making her first career start, but the Rams responded with six runs in the bottom half of the frame, capped by Michael's bases-clearing double, which provided the go-ahead run. Fordham went up 8-0 after four innings in game three but the Billikens rallied for two runs against Aughinbaugh to prevent the run rule and then scored six more runs over the next two innings off of Makenzie McGrath. However, Michael's two-run double in the sixth provided enough insurance for the win.
 
Series History
The Pride hold an all-time 13-5 series lead since 1986. Hofstra took the first seven contests but things have evened out in recent years. The two schools have met once each season this decade and they have traded wins the past six meetings, including Fordham's 3-2 road victory a year ago, when the Pride received votes in both national polls. Madie Aughinbaugh doubled in the team's first win in the third and scored on a Maria Trivelpiece single before Chelsea Skrepenak powered the eventual game-winning across with a solo shot. Hofstra rallied with one run in the sixth and seventh but Paige Rauch held on for the victory.

Conference-Only
The Rams are 11-3 to begin league play this season, with five straight conference series wins, to sit in second place in the standings despite having the most league wins. At the dish, the team is slashing .332/.400/.501 as a team, led by five players batting over .350 – Michael, Trivelpiece, Storm, Roark, and Hubertus at .522, .447, .415, .395, and .372, respectively. Those five all hold an OPS above .980 with a combined 16 home runs. Storm leads the way with 22 hits, 17 runs scored, and five home runs, while sporting a .811 slugging percentage thanks to a team-high 10 extra-base hits. Michael's 1.000 slugging percentage leads the way, though, over her 10 appearances. Roark leads the way with 16 RBI, while Hubertus leads with 11 walks. In the circle, Madie Aughinbaugh does what she usually does – turns her game up a notch in conference play. The junior is 8-0 over 10 starts with seven complete games, one shutout, and a 2.44 ERA over 59.0 frames.
 
Having played the most contests (11), it's not surprising to see several Rams atop the conference leaderboards. Storm leads the Atlantic 10 in runs, hits, and home runs, while her average sits 10^th, just behind Trivelpiece (.447) and ahead of Roark (.395). Storm is third in slugging, while Hubertus, Roark, and Trivelpiece are sixth and joint-seventh, respectively, in on-base percentage. Aughinbaugh's eight wins are three more than the next closest rival.
 
Michael Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
A few weeks after Jordy Storm earned her first career piece of hardware, another Ram senior has earned hers – Kylie Michael. The Chino Hills, Calif. native returned from an injury lay-off to slash a brilliant .622/.722/1.375 over five consecutive wins this past week. Read more about her career week here.
 
Aughinbaugh Named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week
The junior fired two more complete games, one a shutout, to help the Rams to a pair of victories over Dayton at home two weekends ago and was named the league's Pitcher of the Week as a result. Read more here.
 
NCAA Ranks
With an offensive week behind them, the Rams have moved up the national leaderboards, as well, ranking 56^th in average (.295), 64^th in slugging percentage (.450), and 98^th in runs per game (4.87). The Rams are also 40^th in home runs per game (1.0 per contest). Molly Roark's 12 home runs rank 37^th nationally and 36^th with 0.32 per game, both second in the A-10 behind GW's Jenna Cone. The team is also 117^th in strikeout to walk ratio (1.69). Aughinbaugh has been her usual stingy self in limiting free passes – she ranks 96^th with a 1.62 walks/seven innings rate, while Makenzie McGrath isn't far behind at 143^rd with a rate of 1.81.
 
Program Ranks
Junior tri-captain Madie Aughinbaugh continues her climb up the all-time pitching ranks. With her second start of the weekend, the Port Tobacco, Md. native moved into a tie for sixth with Rachel Gillen ('16) with 69 career starts and into a tie for third with Melissa Curley ('97) with 41 complete games. She is also one appearance away from tying Chelsea Plimpton ('11) for eighth at 93. She is at 45 career victories, as well, three behind Gillen and Lauren Quense ('18). Chelsea Skrepenak also stole her 31^st career base over the weekend, moving past Sydney Canessa ('17) into a tie for ninth all-time with Erin Fisher ('10). Check out the softball record book HERE.
 
Storm Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Senior Jordy Storm earned her first career award two weeks ago when the league named her the Player of the Week. The Walla Walla, Wash. native garnered the recognition by slashing .429/.467/1.000 at the plate over a 2-2 week for the Rams. Read more about her week here.
 
Hubertus Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
The sophomore picked up her first career piece of hardware by being named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week in mid-February. Hubertus earned the accolade following an eight-game hitting streak and slashing .464/.483/.821 overall over nine starts at the hot corner. She is second on the team with six home runs and 14 runs, third with 25 hits, and fourth with 13 RBIs. Read more here.
 
2019 Schedule
Fordham will be home for most of the remainder of the regular season. See the entire schedule here.
 
Fordham Picked to Finish Second in Preseason Coaches' Poll
For the first time in seven years, the Rams have not been predicted by the league's coaches to finish atop the A-10 standings. Instead, Fordham has been picked to finish in a tie with Dayton for second. Read more about the annul preseason poll here.
 
Like a year ago, Fordham received nine of 10 possible first-place votes and 99 points from the league's head coaches and have thus been picked to successfully defend its Atlantic 10 championship for a sixth consecutive year. You can read more about that, here. The Rams have won five straight tournament titles and six of the last seven, plus five regular season titles, as well, in the past eight years.
 
Fordham Softball Archived Stories
Read up on Fordham's offseason turnover, season previews, game previews and recaps. Read all of the team's archived stories from this season and beyond, here.
 
Fordham Quick Facts
You can find this season's full schedule, roster, and quick facts, plus last year's season statistics, all here.
 
Up Next
The Rams host Saint Joseph's for a three-game set on Friday and Saturday due to Easter Sunday. Friday's one-off series opener is set for 11 a.m., while Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 12:30 p.m. However, potential inclement weather may change things.
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!