Softball Hosts St. John's on Wednesday in Nonconference Action

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (24-22, 15-5 A-10) wraps up the regular season this week with four contests at home. First up in nonconference action is St. John's (25-19, 13-3 Big East) on Wednesday afternoon, May 1, at 3 p.m.  
 
Fans can follow along with the action via the links above if you are unable to come out to Bahoshy Field.
 
Last Time Out
For the first time in seven series, the Rams did not win or sweep an opponent in conference play. This past weekend, Massachusetts took two of three in Amherst. Fordham took game one, 6-3, before suffering its first loss in 13 contests, 11-6, in game two. UMass took the rubber game, 4-1, on Sunday. In the series opener, both teams scored two runs, but it was the Rams who struck for four runs in the third inning on two two-run home runs to secure the victory. Madie Aughinbaugh doubled home Chelsea Skrepenak, with Molly Roark also scoring on an error on the play, in the first and settled in after allowing two runs in the bottom half of the frame to fire yet another complete game victory and improve to 11-0 in league action. UMass took a 3-2 lead in the second but Aughinbaugh held them off the board the rest of the way. Roark's two-run blast proved to be the difference in the contest, while Maria Trivelpiece's second career home run, and second in as many games, added some insurance. Fordham went up, 5-3, in game two on Julia Martine's first career home run, a three-run shot, but the hosts rallied against Makenzie McGrath to eventually take the game and even the series up. Quinn Breidenbach allowed UMass to take the series, holding the Rams to one run on six hits – the run coming on Jordy Storm's 10^th home run of the year.
 
Series History
St. John's holds a 14-8 all-time series advantage over the Rams since 1985, winning 10 of the first 11 meetings in the '80s and early '90s. After a 11 year hiatus, the two schools met twice on neutral ground in 2003, splitting a pair of games, before taking six more years off. Since 2009, the two schools have met in all but two years. St. John's has own the last two contests in each of the last two seasons, 3-0, in the Bronx in 2017 and a wild 14-11 thriller in Queens last year. Two years ago, Aughinaugh and Skrepenak recorded two of the team's four singles on the day against McKenzie Murray. Last year, Deanna Burbridge reached base a team-high four times on two doubles and two walks, while Skrepenak blasted a two-run home run. Brianna Pinto singled and scored twice, while Trivelpiece singled and scored twice. Kelly Bright also scored as a pinch runner.

Conference-Only
The Rams are 15-5 in league play this season, with six straight conference series wins before last weekend's loss at UMass, and sit atop the Atlantic 10 standings. At the dish, the team is slashing .335/.393/.512 as a team, led by six players batting over .350 – Storm, Trivelpiece, Roark, Hubertus, Michael, and Aughinbaugh at .423, .397, .387, .386, .372, and .357, respectively. Four of those six hold an OPS above 1.000 and all six have combined for 23 home runs. Storm leads the way with 30 hits, 21 runs scored, and seven home runs, while sporting a team-high .831 slugging percentage thanks to 14 extra-base hits. Roark leads the way with 21 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 11-1 over 14 starts with 11 complete games, one shutout, and a 1.92 ERA over 84.0 frames. McGrath is next with a 4.38 ERA over nine league appearances, two starts, with a 4-2 record.
 
Among their compatriots in league action, Fordham has four players in the top 15 for average (Storm, Trivelpiece, Roark, and Hubertus), three in on-base percentage (Hubertus, Roark, and Storm), and four in slugging (Storm, Roark, Hubertus, and Michael). Storm leads the conference with 30 league hits, 14 extra-base hits, and seven home runs, and is tied for the lead with 21 runs. Aughinbaugh's 11 wins are tied atop the standings alongside George Washington's Sierra Lange, four more than the next pitcher, Saint Joseph's Ashley Ventura. Aughinbaugh's 1.92 ERA sits third-lowest behind Kiara Oliver and Marina Vitalich.
 
Fordham is in the top three in the triple slash categories and leads the conference in hits (18 more than George Washington), RBIs, and runs, and are second with 24 home runs. The Rams' team 3.14 ERA is fourth-lowest among pitching staffs.
 
NCAA Ranks
Nationally, the Rams rank 37^th in average (.306), 46^th with 1.02 home runs per game, 51^st with a .464 slugging percentage, and 61^st with 5.26 runs per game. The team is also 107^th with a 1.77 strikeout/walk ratio. On the players side, Molly Roark's 0.30 home runs per game sits 41^st nationally, while her 14 home runs rank 36^th. Madie Aughinbaugh's typically stingy performances have led to a 1.45 walks per seven innings rate, ranked 61^st overall, while her 3.44 strikeout/walk ratio ranks 79^th. She's also 116^th with 117 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 98 appearances, fifth with 73 starts, third with 45 complete games, sixth with 303 strikeouts, and eighth with a 2.59 ERA. She also moved into a tie with Rachel Gillen ('16) and Lauren Quense ('18) for fourth with 48 career wins. Chelsea Skrepenak is now up to eighth all-time with 130 runs scored and joint-seventh with 32 career stolen bases, moving past Erin Fisher ('10) and into a tie with Jamie Chastain ('03) and Allison Twarowski ('08). Molly Roark's 14^th home run of the year moved her into a tie for seventh in a single year alongside Katie Davis ('05) and Skylar Johnston ('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.
 
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.
 
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 Rhode Island for three games this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Both days are set to begin at noon. This year's Senior Day ceremony will take place between the two games on Saturday.
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!