Amherst, Mass. – The Fordham softball team saw its win streak snapped on Saturday but not before extending it to 12 straight victories in the day's doubleheader split at Massachusetts. The Rams took game one, 6-3, before falling, 11-6, in game two. With the results, Fordham moves to 24-21 overall and 15-4 in Atlantic 10 action, while the Minutewomen move to 22-19 and 10-4, respectively.
After taking an early lead in game one, the Rams rallied with a pair of two-run home runs in the third inning to start this weekend's all-important series with a victory. In game two, Fordham again took an early lead and rallied twice to retake the lead but eventually fell in a back-and-forth affair.
Junior
Madie Aughinbaugh once again went the distance, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk while punching out seven across her seven frames to improve to 14-9 on the year and 11-0 in league play. Aughinbaugh got things started with the bat in the opening frame, doubling home
Chelsea Skrepenak, while
Molly Roark was able to score on a throwing error. The play put the Rams up, 2-0, but the Minutewomen responded with three straight one-out doubles to tie the game up at 2-all in the bottom half of the first. UMass went ahead, 3-2, on a two-out RBI single by Erin Stacevicz.
The lead didn't last long as the Rams put together a three-run rally in the top of the third, which would hold the rest of the way. Skrepenak led off with a single up the middle and scored on Roark's towering two-run blast to right, providing the go-ahead run, 4-3. Aughinbaugh again doubled as the hosts switched pitchers from Rausch to Breidenbach.
Maria Trivelpiece greeted the latter with a two-run shot to right, the second of her career and in back-to-back contests.
Aughinbaugh settled in after that, keeping the UMass off the board the rest of the way, although they threatened with two runners in the fourth, with the junior inducing two straight strikeouts to get out of the jam. Again in the fifth, UMass put a runner in scoring position but Aughinbaugh struck out Stavinoha to end the inning.
Skrepenak paced the offense with three hits, while Aughinbaugh, Roark, Taffet, and Trivelpiece each recorded two hits apiece.
Fordham started off well in the game two, with Skrepenak walking and
Jordy Storm doubling to left center to put runners in scoring position with nobody out but the visitors walked away with just one run on a Roark groundout. UMass took the lead off
Makenzie McGrath in the bottom of the frame with a two-run home run from Stavinoha, which extended to a two-run lead with a solo home run by Allen to lead off the second.
The Rams rallied with two outs in the third thanks to an error in the field.
Kylie Michael's ground ball was booted by Stavinoha, allowing Roark to score, and
Julia Martine powered her first career home run to left, a three-run shot, to put Fordham up, 5-3. The lead was brief, however, as UMass plated three in the third on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to tie the game, 5-5. McGrath worked around runners on second and third in the fourth to keep the game tied up and Fordham took a one-run lead in the fifth.
Michael doubled with one out and an error by the first baseman allowed Taffet to reach and keep the inning alive with two outs.
Deanna Burbridge singled in Michael to take the lead. The hosts again didn't wait long to move ahead, scoring three in the inning. UMass would keep Fordham off the board the rest of the way while scoring three more runs in the sixth.
Burbridge was the lone Ram to record a multi-hit effort in game two, while seven other Rams tallied one hit. Aughinbaugh and Taffet each reached twice, making it four total times on the basepaths in the doubleheader.
Sunday's rubber game is scheduled to begin at noon. It is the final road game of the regular season for Fordham as the Rams will host St. John's on Wednesday afternoon before welcoming Rhode Island to the Bronx for a three-game set next weekend.
