Softball Up at Massachusetts for Three-Game Series

Schedule | Live Stats

Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (23-20, 14-3 A-10) returns to Atlantic 10 action this weekend with its final road games of the year, playing a three-game series at second-place Massachusetts (21-18, 9-3 A-10). Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m., while Sunday's series finale will start at noon.
 
Fans can watch all three games on ESPN+ and follow along with live stats. Each contest has a unique URL so fans are encouraged to visit the schedule page above for direct links.  
 
Last Time Out
The Rams made it 11 straight victories with a 5-3 win over Providence on Wednesday afternoon at Bahoshy Field. Makenzie McGrath made her third start and picked up her eighth win with just two unearned runs allowed over four frames before giving way to Madie Aughinbaugh, who picked up her second save with three one-run innings. The offense gave those two all the support they'd need with four runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Aughinbaugh, a groundout, and a two-run home run by Kylie Michael.  
 
Series History
UMass holds an all-time 52-22 series advantage over the Rams since 1996, the latter's first year in the Atlantic 10. The Minutewomen won the first 23 contests in the series until the Rams swept a home doubleheader in 2005. Nationally ranked off and on for several years, UMass won every contest until 2009 and most until 2011 when the Rams won two on the road. Between 2013 and 2016, the Rams won eight straight and the last two years UMass holds a slight 6-5 advantage. Fordham was swept at home last year in the regular season but defeated the top-seeded Minutewomen twice en route to a sixth consecutive A-10 title.

Conference-Only
The Rams are 14-3 in league play this season, with six straight conference series wins, to finally ascend to the top of the standings. At the dish, the team is slashing .339/.399/.514 as a team, led by six players batting over .350 –Storm, Michael, Trivelpiece, Roark, Hubertus, and Aughinbaugh at .443, .438, .421, .404, .386, and .367, respectively. Five of those six hold an OPS above 1.000 and all six have combined for 20 home runs. Storm leads the way with 27 hits, 20 runs scored, and six home runs, while sporting a team-high .836 slugging percentage thanks to 11 extra-base hits. Roark leads the way with 18 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 10-0 over 12 starts with nine complete games, one shutout, and a 1.68 ERA over 71.0 frames. McGrath is next with a 3.46 ERA over eight league appearances with a 4-1 record.
 
Among their compatriots in league action, Fordham has three players in the top eight for average (Storm, Michael, and Trivelpiece), in on-base percentage (Hubertus, Michael, and Roark), and in slugging (Storm, Michael, and Roark). Storm and Michael rank third and fourth, respectively, in the latter. Trivelpiece's team-high 24 hits rank third, while Aughinbaugh's 22 rank sixth. Storm leads the conference with six home runs in league play, while Roark is tied for second with five and is second with 18 RBIs. 
 
NCAA Ranks
With plenty of offense during their 11-game win streak, the Rams have moved up the national leaderboards, as well, ranking 39^th in average (.305), 43^rd with 1.00 home runs per game, 56^th with a .461 slugging percentage, and 56^th with 5.33 runs per game. The team is also 105^th with a 1.77 strikeout/walk ratio. On the plyers side, Molly Roark's 0.30 home runs per game sits 45^th nationally, while her 13 home runs rank 36^th. Madie Aughinbaugh's typically stingy performances have led to a 1.53 walks per seven innings rate, ranked 76^th overall, while her 3.24 strikeout/walk ratio ranks 88^th. She's also 122^nd with 107 strikeouts.
 
Program Ranks
Junior tri-captain Madie Aughinbaugh continues her climb up the all-time pitching ranks. Over the past week, the Port Tobacco, Md. native moved up to seventh with 96 appearances, sixth with 71 starts, third with 43 complete games, sixth with 293 strikeouts, and eighth with a 2.58 ERA. She is also one win away from joining Rachell Gillen ('16) and Lauren Quense ('18) in a tie for fourth, with 48. Chelsea Skrepenak is now up to eighth all-time with 127 runs scored and joint-ninth with 32 career stolen bases, moving past Erin Fisher ('10) and into a tie for seventh all-time with Jamie Chastain ('03) and Allison Twarowski ('08). Molly Roark's 13^th home run of the year put her in a tie for ninth along with five others, including former teammate Madi Shaw ('18). Check out the softball record book HERE.
 
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 two weeks ago. 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 three weekends ago and was named the league's Pitcher of the Week as a result. Read more 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. Read more here.
 
2019 Schedule
Fordham will wrap up its regular season with four games at Bahoshy Field next week and weekend before heading back up to UMass for the A-10 Tournament. 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 St. John's on Wednesday, May 1, at 3 p.m. before hosting Rhode Island for a three-game series next weekend.
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!