Baseball Travels to Dayton for Final A-10 Series

Purchase Tickets for the 2019 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship

Bronx, N.Y. – (May 15, 2019) – The final weekend of the college baseball season is upon us, and the Fordham Rams look to extend their season by claiming one of seven spots in next week's Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be held at Fordham's Houlihan Park, May 22-25.
 
Fordham (32-21, 13-8) is on the road for the final weekend in Dayton, Ohio, to face the Dayton Flyers in a three-game conference series.  The Rams need a win to officially clinch a playoff spot, as the team currently sits in fourth place, percentage points ahead of both Richmond and Rhode Island, while chasing Davidson for third.
 
The Rams take on a resurgent Dayton Flyers (28-22-1, 15-6), who have already secured their spot for next week's championship and sit in second place.  The Flyers have their highest win total since 2012, when the team won the Atlantic 10 Championship at Houlihan Park, and are looking to finish off their home schedule on a high note. 
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE
Friday: Fordham – LHP Matt Mikulski (6-5, 3.67) vs. Dayton – LHP Hunter Wolfe (8-4, 3.82) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday: Fordham – RHP John Stankiewicz (7-3, 1.18) vs. Dayton – RHP Cole Pletka (3-2, 5.48) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday: Fordham – TBA vs. Dayton – RHP R.J. Wagner (5-2, 4.27) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Dayton have met 34 times since 2001 with the Flyers holding an 18-16 edge in the all-time series.  This is Fordham's first trip to Dayton since 2015.  Last season, Fordham took two of three games in last year's series at Houlihan Park and since 2014 are 8-5 against the Flyers.
 
LAST TIME OUT (5/11): On a picture perfect Saturday in the Bronx, the Fordham baseball team sent off their senior class in style, posting a doubleheader sweep of the La Salle Explorers, 5-0 and 7-2, at Houlihan Park.
 
In game one, John Stankiewicz and Gabe Karslo combined to throw a six-hit shutout, as the Rams blanked the Explorers, 5-0.
 
It was a traditional pitcher's duel between Fordham's John Stankiewicz and La Salle's Colin Kennedy.  Each put up zeroes through the sixth inning until Fordham finally broke through in the seventh.  The Rams got one-out singles from Justin Bardwell and Matt Tarabek, while Jason Coules was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Nick Labella then drew a walk to force in the opening run of the game.
 
Fordham then tacked on four runs in the eighth to extend the lead to 5-0.  C.J. Vazquez drew a leadoff walk, followed by a two-run home run to left by Alvin Melendez, his fourth of the season.  The Rams later scored on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Coules.
 
That cushion was enough for Stankiewicz and reliever Gabe Karslo, as the duo tossed Fordham's fifth shutout of the season.  Stankiewicz (7-3) recorded his team-leading seventh win of the year, allowing six hits over eight innings of work with seven strikeouts.  Karslo pitched a perfect ninth to finish the game.
 
At the plate, Tarabek was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base, while Melendez was 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
 
In game two, Coules and Vazquez combined for six of the Rams' 13 hits, as Fordham posted a 7-2 win over La Salle.
 
Fordham started the scoring in the second inning on a two-run single by Jake Baker, scoring Coules and Justin Bardwell.   La Salle answered with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game at two.  The game did not stay tied for long, as Melendez plated Baker with an RBI-single to left in the bottom of the fifth for a 3-2 lead.  The Rams then added three runs in the seventh and one in the eighth for the 7-2 final.
 
Anthony DiMeglio (5-3) earned the win on his Senior Day, as he went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts.  Anthony Zimmerman pitched two scoreless innings of relief with the three strikeouts, followed by a scoreless inning from Cory Wall.  Kyle Martin then wrapped the game in the ninth by striking out the side.
 
At the plate, Vazquez was 3-for-5 with a triple and a run scored, while Coules was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double and a stolen base.  Baker finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base with Billy Godrick going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI.
 
STANKIEWICZ NAMED A-10 CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK (5/13):  – The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday, with Fordham pitcher John Stankiewicz (Cherry, Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) being named the conference's Co-Pitcher of the Week.  He shares the honor with Saint Louis' Connor Lehmann.  This is Stankiewicz's third weekly award of the season, having also been named Pitcher of the Week on March 12^th and 25^th.  It is also the seventh Pitcher of the Week award giving to a Fordham pitcher this season.
 
Stankiewicz earned the weekly honor following his performance on Saturday against La Salle.  He threw eight shutout innings against the Explorers to record his team-leading seventh win of the season.  He scattered six hits, while striking out seven in just 83 pitches.

 
Stankiewicz is the Atlantic 10 leader in ERA (1.18) and WHIP (0.83), while ranking third and seventh in the nation in those categories, respectively. He is also sixth in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.58).
 
30-SOMETHING: For the second straight season, the Rams have reached the 30-win plateau, marking the first time since the 1990 and 1991 seasons, the Fordham has recorded back-to-back 30-win campaigns.
 
GUESS WE'RE FASCIST: In the movie Bull Durham, Crash Davis says that "strikeouts are fascist."  If that's the case, the Fordham pitching staff might be fascist.  For the fifth straight year, the Rams are on pace to break the team strikeout record as a pitching staff.  The team's streak started with 392 in 2015, followed by 408 in 2016 and 414 in 2017.  In 2018, Fordham crushed the mark with 536, and this year, the team has racked up 530 with three regular season games remaining.  The Rams average 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, which rates eighth in the country, and first in the Atlantic 10.
 
RAMS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS (5/14): Entering this week, the Fordham Rams rank among the top 15 nationally in a number of categories.  Fordham tied for first in the nation in stolen bases per game at 2.92, as well as in overall in swipes with 155 with Wright State.  The Rams are also second in the nation in team ERA with an Atlantic 10-best mark of 3.03, trailing only #1 UCLA (2.70).  Fordham is also sixth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.22) and eighth in strikeouts per nine innings (10.2).  Individually, Jake MacKenzie is fourth in the nation in stolen bases (39) and 12^th in triples (6), while John Stankiewicz is third in ERA (1.18), seventh in WHIP (0.83), and sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.58).
 
CLOSING IN ON MILESTONES: A number of Rams have hit or are closing in on some career and single season milestones in the coming games, and here is a quick look:
 
Career Saves – Kyle Martin – 19 (tied for first Bobby Aylmer & Jamie Sammut)
Career Doubles – Justin Bardwell – 54 (one shy of record - 55 by Greg Smith)
Career RBI – Justin Bardwell – 118 (two shy of 120 – would be the 13^th Ram to reach mark)
Career Triples – Jake MacKenzie – 12 (Danny Leach is third all-time with 13)
Career Stolen Bases – Jake MacKenzie – 73 (one shy of tying for fifth all-time at Fordham)
Single Season Stolen Bases – Jake MacKenzie – 39 (one shy of becoming the seventh Ram to reach 40)
Career Strikeouts – Anthony DiMeglio – 203 (ninth Ram to reach 200)
Single Season ERA – Anthony Zimmerman – 0.91 (record is 0.85 by Bob Cooney in 1927)
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams hope to be in next week's Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be hosted at Fordham's Houlihan Park, May 22-25.  Tickets for the championship can be purchased here.