Amherst, Mass. – The Fordham softball team needed two wins to force a winner-takes-all Atlantic 10 Championship game on Saturday at Sortino Field and the Rams did just that. Fordham run-ruled Saint Joseph's, 10-2, in six innings to avenge Thursday's loss to the Hawks, setting up a meeting in the Final with #3 George Washington, trailing early but rallying for a 5-2 win to force the one-off finale on Sunday at noon. With the wins, the Rams improve to 29-24 on the year.
The Fordham offense carried its momentum into the day, recording 25 total hits in 13 innings, bringing its season batting average up to .312, which is currently a new program record by .002. Meanwhile,
Madie Aughinbaugh continued her dominance in the circle, limiting her two opponents to two runs apiece across two complete game performances. The junior became just the third Ram to ever notch 50 career wins and 50 career complete games on the day.
The Rams never trailed in game one against the Hawks, taking a lead in the first inning on an Aughinbaugh RBI single. After three scoreless innings, Fordham went plated the eventual game-winning runs on a
Jordy Storm two-run triple, eventually running up the score and ending the game an inning early.
Chelsea Skrepenak led off game one with a single up the middle, eventually moving over to third, and scored on Aughinbaugh's single to center. The Hawks next threatened in the third with a leadoff single by Carly Rybinski but
Molly Roark gunned her down at second attempting to steal, and again in the fifth when Taryn Grober led off with a double but Aughinbaugh induced three straight groundouts to work out of trouble.
Deanna Burbridge began the four-run fifth with a bunt single and Skrepenak singled a 1-2 pitch to right to put two on with nobody out. Storm's bomb to center led to both runs scoring and a third career triple for the senior, scoring right after on Roark's single to left. Aughinbaugh kept it going with another single to left and
Maria Trivelpiece walked to load the bases. Ashley Ventura was able to get three straight outs after that but the Rams pushed one more across on a
Kylie Michael fielder's choice. Saint Joseph's got one back in the sixth with back-to-back hits to begin the frame but Aughinbaugh rebounded with outs from three of the next four batters. Fordham scored four runs in the sixth off two new Hawks pitchers, Ashley Herr and Chelsea Evans. Against the former, Burbridge beat out an infield single to short, Skrepenak ripped a triple to right center, and Roark mashed a two-run shot to left. Trivelpiece added a ninth run on an RBI double to score Aughinbaugh, who walked, and
Julia Martine ended the game with an RBI single down the left field line.
Six Rams enjoyed multi-hit efforts in game one, led by Skrepenak going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI. Storm, Roark, Aughinbaugh, and Trivelpiece behind her all notched two hits, one run, and at least one RBI apiece with Storm driving in two, Roark three, and Aughinbaugh and Trivelpiece one. Michael and Martine each drove in one, as well, with eight different Rams driving in at least one run. Burbridge against notched a pair of hits out of the nine spot, scoring twice. Aughinbaugh allowed eight hits and no walks while striking out one over her six frames.
George Washington had not played since Friday morning and began game two on a tear. Although, the Rams got two of the first three batters out, the Colonials cobbled together two walks, one with the bases loaded, and an RBI single to take an early advantage. The Rams answered immediately, however, with Skrepenak again leading off with a hit, singling to left field and stealing second base. With two outs, Aughinbaugh beat out an infield single to third and Trivelpiece came through a big two-out RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit in half. George Washington again loaded the bases in the second but this time Aughinbaugh kept them off the board, striking out her counterpart, Sierra Lange, and inducing a pair of fielder's choice groundouts to end the threat.
Fordham tied the game with smart baserunning in the third. Roark ripped a double to left center and was replaced by
Gigi Speer at second. Aughinbaugh laid down a perfect bunt to reach first, noticed second was unoccupied, and took off. Criza Bulanadi, the center fielder, ran forward to cover the base and Aughinbaugh was caught in a rundown, but it allowed Speer to race home. The Rams threatened to go ahead the next inning with a one-out
Kylie Michael double but the senior was left stranded. Again Aughinbaugh was faced with a leadoff double to begin the fifth but she quickly worked out of trouble with three outs on six pitches. The Rams went ahead for good in the bottom half of the frame.
Skrepenak singled to left and advanced to second as the ball was bobbled, although it didn't matter where she was as Roark smacked her second home run of the day, an opposite field shot to right center, to plate the go-ahead run. Aughinbaugh doubled to right and Martine singled
Anne Marie Prentiss, as a pinch runner, in with two outs to cap the scoring. Aughinbaugh allowed just two singles, one in each of the next two frames, and finished the game by starting a double play, pitcher to shortstop to first.
Aughinbaugh finished the day 3-for-3 at the plate and picked up her 17
th win of the year with her 23
rd complete game, tied for seventh most in a season. Skrepenak and Roark enjoyed two more multi-hit games and seven Rams tallied at least one hit apiece.
For the tournament thus far, the Rams are slashing .365/.397/.539. Led by Aughinbaugh who has a team-high nine hits and .692 batting average in 13 at-bats. Skrepenak has scored a championship-high nine runs and has eight hits and three stolen bases, batting .571. Roark is slashing .462/.500/1.154 with three doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI to power the offense, while three others are hitting over .300. Aughinbaugh is 3-1 with a 2.07 ERA over 27.0 frames.
Skrepenak's final run in game two moved her into solo seventh, passing Melissa Andrews ('09), while her 51 runs this season is tied for ninth all-time. Roark moved into a tie for third with three others with 16 home runs this season.
Fordham and George Washington will play for the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship tomorrow at noon.
