Bronx, N.Y. – (April 9, 2018) – For the second time in less than a week, the Fordham baseball team got some late inning heroics in the form of a walk-off single by
C.J. Vazquez in the bottom of the 11
th inning, giving the Rams a 3-2 win over the Columbia Lions at Houlihan Park on Tuesday.
With the win, Fordham has won five in a row, improving to 21-12 on the season, while Columbia fell to 10-15.
Columbia opened with a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, as Lewis Menendez scored on a passed ball from third base, after reaching on a single and moving to third on a double by Julian Bury.
The Lions made it 2-0 in the sixth, taking advantage of a Fordham error. Chandler Bengtson singled to center, but the ball got by
Billy Godrick in center, allowing Bengtson to reach third. Josh Nicoloff then singled home Bengtson for a two-run lead.
With the score still at 2-0, Fordham put together a rally in the ninth despite the rain picking up throughout the inning. The Rams loaded the bases with no outs on walks to
Justin Bardwell and
Jason Coules as well as a single by
Matt Tarabek. After a pitching change,
Andy Semo singled to right, driving in Bardwell to cut the deficit to 2-1. After a strikeout,
Nick Labella lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Tarabek from third to knot the game at two.
Anthony Zimmerman
Following the conclusion of the ninth inning still tied at two, the game then went into an 18-minute rain delay, as resumed with extra innings. The Rams then won the game in the 11
th inning, as Godrick led off with a single and moved to second on a ground out. After another ground out,
C.J. Vazquez lined a single that hit the right field line for a fair ball, allowing Godrick to score the game-winning run.
For Fordham, Vazquez finished 2-for-4 with a double and the game-winning hit, while
Jake MacKenzie also had a pair of hits and a stolen base. It was MacKenzie's 30
th stolen base of the season, making his the first Ram with back-to-back 30 stolen bases seasons since Shawn Harris in 1993 and 1994.
On the mound,
Anthony Zimmerman (3-1) earned the win in relief, pitching two scoreless innings in the 10
th and 11
th, with four strikeouts.
Alvin Melendez made the start, allowing one unearned run on three hits with five strikeouts.
Gabe Karslo threw two innings of relief, allowing one unearned run, while
Marc Bisogno,
Mike Cowell, and
Brandon Nance each threw a scoreless inning of relief.
The Rams are right back at it on Wednesday with a road game at Siena, starting at 3:00 PM.