Baseball Finishes Road Swing with Series at George Mason

Bronx, N.Y. – (May 2, 2019) – After an extra-inning win on Tuesday, the Fordham baseball team wraps up its nine-game road swing this weekend with a three-game Atlantic 10 series at George Mason, May 3-5.
 
Fordham (27-20, 8-7) is 4-2 so far on its nine-game road trip, having won the first three games, dropping two, and then rebounding with an extra-inning win at Albany.  It will be a big series for the Rams, as the team currently sits in a tie for sixth place with Saint Joseph's in the conference standings, just a game back of Rhode Island and Richmond for fourth place, with nine conference games to go.
 
George Mason (17-26, 4-11) enter this weekend, needing a big push to keep their playoff hopes alive heading into the final three weekends of play.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE
Friday: Fordham – LHP Matt Mikulski (5-5, 3.97) vs. George Mason – LHP Brian Marconi (3-6, 4.91) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday: Fordham – RHP John Stankiewicz (6-2, 1.20) vs. George Mason – RHP Jared DiCesare (3-5, 4.71) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday: Fordham – RHP Anthony DiMeglio (3-3, 2.90) vs. George Mason – RHP Jared Lyons (0-2, 8.61) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and George Mason have met 15 times previously with the Patriots holding a 9-6 edge in the series.  The team last met at last year's Atlantic 10 Championship, where George Mason topped the Rams, 4-0, on day two of the championship.  Prior to that the two teams had a three-game series in 2017 in Fairfax, with Mason taking two of three games
 
LAST TIME OUT (4/30): Fordham's Jason Coules connected on a two-run double in the top of the tenth, while Gabe Karslo pitched a scoreless inning for the save, as the Rams edged the Albany Great Danes, 7-5, in ten innings at Varsity Field in Albany, N.Y.
 
Fordham opened the scoring right away in the first inning, netting a 3-0 lead.  Alvin Melendez kicked things off with a one-out double down the left field line, followed by walks to Jake MacKenzie and Matt Tarabek.  Melendez then scored on a balk for a 1-0 lead.  Jason Coules then connected on a two-run double down the left field line for a 3-0 edge. 
 
Albany got on the board in the second inning, getting an RBI-double from Josh Loeffler to make it a 3-1 game.  The Great Danes then grabbed a 4-3 lead in the third with a three-run outburst, picking up an RBI-double by Alex Thul, an RBI-ground out from Dolan Ocasal, and an RBI-single by Loeffler.
 
Fordham answered with a run in the fourth inning, tying the game at four.  Matt Tarabek was hit by a pitch with one out, while Coules and Andy Semo each drew walks to load the bases.  Billy Godrick then lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Tarabek from third.

Albany re-took the lead in the fifth on an RBI-single by Thul, but the Rams once again tied the game in the seventh, when Billy Godrick blasted a solo home run to left, his first of the season, making it a 5-5 game.
 
The game stayed tied all the way into extra innings, when Fordham regained the lead at 7-5.  With runners at second and third and one out, Coules delivered a two-run double to left, scoring MacKenzie and Tarabek for a two-run lead.
 
Gabe Karslo closed out the Fordham win, earning his second save of the season with a scoreless tenth.  Kyle Martin (3-2) got the win after posting a scoreless ninth.  Melendez went the first three innings, allowing four runs, while Marc Bisogno (2 IP, 1 R), Brian Weissert (1 IP, 0 R), and Anthony Zimmerman (2 IP, 0 R) rounded out the pitching.  At the plate, Coules was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a season-high four RBI, while Tarabek was 1-for-2 with three runs scored and three stolen bases.  Godrick had a home run and two RBI with MacKenzie going 2-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored. 

BAKER NAMED A-10 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK (4/29):  The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham junior outfielder Jake Baker (Cedar Hill, Texas) selected as the league's Co-Player of the Week.  He shares the honor with Dayton's Connor Echols. This is Baker's first career weekly award, but the fifth overall for a Ram this season.
 
Baker had a fantastic week, batting .667 (8-12) with four runs scored, seven RBI, and a pair of stolen bases.  He posted a career-high four RBI to go with a 3-for-4 day at the plate in a series opening win over UMass Lowell on Saturday.  He then recorded his second career four-hit game in the finale, going 4-for-5 with a run scored, an RBI, and a stolen base.

 
RAMS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS (5/1): Entering this week, the Fordham Rams currently rank among the top 15 nationally in a number of categories.  Fordham is first in the nation in stolen bases per game at 2.96, as well as in overall in swipes with 139.  The Rams are also 11th in the nation in team ERA with an Atlantic 10-best mark of 3.25, 14^th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.45), and 14^th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.0).  Individually, Jake MacKenzie is fourth in the nation in stolen bases (35) and seventh in triples (6), while John Stankiewicz is sixth in ERA (1.20), 13^th in WHIP (0.87), and 16^th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.82).
 
THE BEST OF APRIL: Freshman Jason Coules batted a team-best .385 in the month of April, posting five runs scored, three doubles, a home run, six stolen bases, and eight RBI… Junior Jake Baker batted .333 with seven runs scored, 10 RBI, and five stolen bases… Junior Matt Tarabek hit .324 in April, posting 14 runs scored, seven doubles, 13 RBI, and four stolen bases… Pitchers Anthony Zimmerman, Anthony DiMeglio, and John Stankiewicz were all 2-1 in April… Zimmerman had a 1.35 ERA and 24 strikeouts in his 11 appearances, while DiMeglio had a 2.42 ERA with 24 strikeouts and a .200 opponent batting average in 26.0 innings of work… Stankewicz continued his steal season, recording a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings with 25 strikeouts.
 
CLOSING IN ON MILESTONES: A number of Rams are closing in on some career milestones in the coming games, and here is a quick look:
 
Career Saves – Kyle Martin – 18 (record is 19 by Bobby Aylmer & Jamie Sammut)
Career Doubles – Justin Bardwell – 53 (record is 55 by Greg Smith)
Career RBI – Justin Bardwell – 114 (six 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 – 69 (one shy of being the eighth Ram to reach 70)
Career Strikeouts – Anthony DiMeglio – 192 (8 shy of being the ninth Ram to reach 200)
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Fordham baseball team returns home next weekend to host La Salle for a three-game Atlantic 10 series, May 10-12.