Baseball Hosts Saint Joseph’s This Weekend

Bronx, N.Y. – (April 5, 2019) – Mother Nature put a slight delay on this weekend's Atlantic 10 baseball series between the Fordham Rams and the Saint Joseph's Hawks at Houlihan Park.  The two teams will start the series on Saturday with a noon doubleheader, and conclude with a single game on Sunday at noon.
 
Fordham (17-12, 3-3) is coming off a dramatic 5-4 extra inning win over Siena on Wednesday, which ended with a walk-off solo home run by Justin Bardwell in the tenth inning. The win put the Rams back on the winning track after dropping the final two games of their series at Rhode Island.
 
Saint Joseph's (12-14, 5-1) has had an interesting stretch over their last four games, going 1-3 in those contests, while allowing 62 runs scored.  Offensively, however, the Hawks are performing at the plate, batting .280 as a team, while featuring six regulars with batting averages over .314, led by Nate Thomas at .340.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday (G1): Fordham – LHP Matt Mikulski (3-3, 3.79) vs. Saint Joseph's – RHP Jordan DiValerio (3-2, 4.67) // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday (G2): Fordham - RHP John Stankiewicz (4-1, 0.95) vs. Saint Joseph's – RHP Matt Kennedy (3-1, 6.48) // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday: Fordham – TBA vs. Saint Joseph's – TBA // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: For Fordham and Saint Joseph's, the team have meeting 59 times previously, all as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.  The Hawks hold a slight lead in the overall series at 30-28-1, but Fordham has had the better of the series over the last two years, sweeping all six contests from Saint Joseph's.
 
LAST TIME OUT (4/3): After falling in extra innings in its last game, the Fordham baseball team would not be denied a win on Wednesday, as Justin Bardwell launched a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Rams a 5-4 win over the Siena Saints at Houlihan Park.
 
The Rams started out on the right foot with two runs in the bottom of the first inning for a 2-0 lead.  Jake Guercio led off the inning with a double to left center, and one out later, scored on an RBI-single by Jake MacKenzie.  MacKenzie then stole second and moved to third on a throwing error.  Matt Tarabek then plated MacKenzie with a ground out.
 
Siena tied the game at two with single runs in the second and third inning, but Fordham regained the lead at 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the third.  Guercio was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a passed ball, stole third, and scored on a single by Jake Baker.
 
The Saints then rallied for single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-3 lead. The lead did not last long, as Fordham tied the game at four in the sixth.  MacKenzie laced a triple down the right field line and then scored on a ground out by Tarabek.
 
The score stayed tied at four as the Fordham bullpen was able to hold Siena at bay, as the Saints left 14 runners on base in the game.  The biggest hold came in the seventh inning, as Siena loaded the bases with no outs.  Brian Weissert was then able to work his way out of the jam, posting back-to-back strikeouts and getting a pop up to end the threat.
 
The game went to extra innings, where Fordham's Anthony Zimmerman kept Siena quiet, as he struck out the side in the top of the tenth.  That effort led to Bardwell's heroics in the bottom of the inning.  The senior catcher launched a 1-0 pitch into the left field bleacher for his third home run of the season and a walk-off 5-4 win.
 
Zimmerman (2-1) earned the win in relief, tossing two shutout innings of relief with four strikeouts.  At the plate, Guercio and MacKenzie each had two hits, two runs scored, and a stolen base, while Tarabek drove in two runs.
 
MIKULSKI NAMED A-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK (4/1): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday, with Fordham pitcher Matt Mikulski (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland) being named the conference's Pitcher of the Week.  This is Mikulski's first weekly award of the season, and marks the fourth consecutive week that a Fordham player has been Pitcher of Week, joining John Stankiewicz (twice) and Cory Wall.
 
Mikulski posted his third win of the season on Friday with a 2-0 decision at Rhode Island.  Mikulski tossed seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks, while tying a career-high with 10 strikeouts.  It marked the second consecutive week that he reached double-digit strikeouts in a game.
 
For the year, Mikulski is second on the Rams in wins (3), strikeouts (32), innings pitched (35.2).

 
BARDWELL NAMED TO BUSTER POSEY AWARD WATCH LIST (4/3): For the third consecutive season, senior Justin Bardwell has been placed on the Watch List for the National Catcher of the Year Award.  Previously the Johnny Bench Award, the award is in its 20^th year and has been re-named the Buster Posey Award in honor of the former All-American Catcher at Florida State. 
 
Bardwell leads the Rams this season with three home runs and 20 RBI.  He enters this weekend just two doubles shy of 50 for his career, which would make him the third Ram to reach that milestone, joining Greg Smith and Chris Walker.
 
RAMS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS (4/3): The Fordham Rams currently rank among the national leaders in three major categories this season - stolen bases, ERA, and strikeouts per nine innings.  Fordham currently leads the nation in stolen bases per game at 3.14, while being second overall in swipes with 91, behind only Wofford (96).  The Rams are also tenth in the nation in team ERA with an Atlantic 10-best mark of 2.87, as well as in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.4.  Individually, Jake MacKenzie is NCAA leader in stolen bases with 29 on the year, while being second in triples with six.
 
WHO'S NEXT: It's a full slate of games for Fordham baseball next week, as the Rams host Columbia on April 9^th, play at Siena on April 10^th, and then travel to VCU for a three-game series from April 12-14.