Softball Looks to Clinch Regular Season Crown this Weekend Against Rhode Island

Schedule | Live Stats

Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (25-22, 15-5 A-10) wraps up its regular season this weekend with a chance to secure its sixth Atlantic 10 regular season crown when it hosts Rhode Island (16-28, 5-13 A-10) for a three-game series.
 
Fans can watch all three games on ESPN+ and follow along with live stats. Each contest has a unique URL so fans are encouraged to visit the schedule page above for direct links. 
 
Last Time Out
Fordham got revenge against St. John's for a pair of losses the last two seasons with a 10-2 five-inning victory on Wednesday afternoon at Bahoshy Field. The Rams never trailed in their nonconference finale, plating three runs in the second inning and four more in the third after the visitors had gotten within one half an inning earlier. The Rams put runners on the corners with nobody out in the second and Kylie Michael drove in the game's first run with a booming double to straightaway center. Julia Martine brought in one more with a groundout and Deanna Burbridge plated the go-ahead run with two outs on an RBI single up the middle. Madie Aughinbaugh provided the big blast of the day with a three-run home run in the third before Burbridge replicated her earlier RBI single. Aughinbaugh matched her career-high with a fourth run driven in via a sacrifice fly and the run rule was in effect after a Michael RBI single and an error in the field. Makenzie McGrath secured her ninth win of the year and second complete game with a clean fifth inning.
 
Series History
Fordham holds an all-time 33-16 series advantage over Rhody since 1996. Rhode Island enjoyed the majority of success in the early stages of the rivalry but it has been all Fordham since 2004, where the Rams began a 16-game winning streak until a doubleheader sweep in the Bronx in 2012. Since, Fordham has ripped off 10 consecutive victories, including three straight five-inning wins two seasons ago at home. The two schools did not meet last year.

Regular Season Scenarios
A sweep this weekend will clinch the program's sixth regular season title and third in the last four years. Massachusetts is close behind in the standings and in win percentage having played last contests so the Rams must win the same number or more than the Minutewomen to claim the top seed in next weekend's Atlantic 10 championship. Fordham has not clinched a first-round bye, either, but will do so with one victory. One win and three for George Washington would result in a tie for win percentage but the Rams hold the head-to-head tiebreaker in that scenario.
 
Senior Day
Fordham's six seniors will be honored between games on Saturday: Deanna Burbridge, Kylie Michael, Molly Roark, Chelsea Skrepenak, Jordy Storm, and Maria Trivelpiece. Roark joined the program entering her junior season following two years at Florida Southwestern junior college and Burbridge joined following her freshman season at Queens College. Michael, Skrepenak, Storm, and Trivelpiece are all four-year members of the team and are currently enjoying terrific senior campaigns.
 
Conference-Only
The Rams are 15-5 in league play this season, with six straight conference series wins before last weekend's loss at UMass, and sit atop the Atlantic 10 standings. At the dish, the team is slashing .335/.393/.512 as a team, led by six players batting over .350 – Storm, Trivelpiece, Roark, Hubertus, Michael, and Aughinbaugh at .423, .397, .387, .386, .372, and .357, respectively. Four of those six hold an OPS above 1.000 and all six have combined for 23 home runs. Storm leads the way with 30 hits, 21 runs scored, and seven home runs, while sporting a team-high .831 slugging percentage thanks to 14 extra-base hits. Roark leads the way with 21 RBI, while Hubertus leads with 11 walks. In the circle, Madie Aughinbaugh does what she usually does – turns her game up a notch in conference play. The junior is 11-1 over 14 starts with 11 complete games, one shutout, and a 1.92 ERA over 84.0 frames. McGrath is next with a 4.38 ERA over nine league appearances, two starts, and a 4-2 record.
 
Among their compatriots in league action, Fordham has four players in the top 15 for average (Storm, Trivelpiece, Roark, and Hubertus), three in on-base percentage (Hubertus, Roark, and Storm), and four in slugging (Storm, Roark, Hubertus, and Michael). Storm leads the conference with 30 league hits, 14 extra-base hits, and seven home runs, and is tied for the lead with 21 runs. Aughinbaugh's 11 wins are tied atop the standings alongside George Washington's Sierra Lange, four more than the next pitcher, Saint Joseph's Ashley Ventura. Aughinbaugh's 1.92 ERA sits third-lowest behind Kiara Oliver and Marina Vitalich.
 
Fordham is in the top three in the triple slash categories and leads the conference in hits (18 more than George Washington), RBIs, and runs, and are second with 24 home runs. The Rams' team 3.14 ERA is fourth-lowest among pitching staffs.
 
NCAA Ranks
Nationally, the Rams rank 33^rd in average (.307), 47^th with 1.02 home runs per game, 51^st with a .466 slugging percentage, and 52^nd with 5.36 runs per game. The team is also 105^th with a 1.81 strikeout/walk ratio. On the players side, Molly Roark's 0.30 home runs per game sits 45^th nationally, while her 14 home runs rank 38^th. Madie Aughinbaugh's typically stingy performances have led to a 1.45 walks per seven innings rate, ranked 60^th overall, while her 3.44 strikeout/walk ratio ranks 80^th. She's also 119^th with 117 strikeouts.
 
Program Ranks
Junior tri-captain Madie Aughinbaugh continues her climb up the all-time pitching ranks. Over the past week, the Port Tobacco, Md. native moved up to seventh with 98 appearances, fifth with 73 starts, third with 45 complete games, sixth with 303 strikeouts, and eighth with a 2.59 ERA. She also moved into a tie with Rachel Gillen ('16) and Lauren Quense ('18) for fourth with 48 career wins. Chelsea Skrepenak is now up to eighth all-time with 131 runs scored and now solo seventh with 33 career stolen bases, moving past Jamie Chastain ('03) and Allison Twarowski ('08). Molly Roark's 14^th home run of the year moved her into a tie for seventh in a single year alongside Katie Davis ('05) and Skylar Johnston ('18). Check out the softball record book HERE.
 
Michael Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
A few weeks after Jordy Storm earned her first career piece of hardware, another Ram senior has earned hers – Kylie Michael. The Chino Hills, Calif. native returned from an injury lay-off to slash a brilliant .622/.722/1.375 over five consecutive wins two weeks ago. Read more about her career week here.
 
Aughinbaugh Named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week
The junior fired two more complete games, one a shutout, to help the Rams to a pair of victories over Dayton at home three weekends ago and was named the league's Pitcher of the Week as a result. Read more here.
 
Storm Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Senior Jordy Storm earned her first career award two weeks ago when the league named her the Player of the Week. The Walla Walla, Wash. native garnered the recognition by slashing .429/.467/1.000 at the plate over a 2-2 week for the Rams. Read more about her week here.
 
Hubertus Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
The sophomore picked up her first career piece of hardware by being named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week in mid-February. Hubertus earned the accolade following an eight-game hitting streak and slashing .464/.483/.821 overall over nine starts at the hot corner. Read more here.
 
Fordham Picked to Finish Second in Preseason Coaches' Poll
For the first time in seven years, the Rams have not been predicted by the league's coaches to finish atop the A-10 standings. Instead, Fordham has been picked to finish in a tie with Dayton for second. Read more about the annul preseason poll here.
 
Fordham Softball Archived Stories
Read up on Fordham's offseason turnover, season previews, game previews and recaps. Read all of the team's archived stories from this season and beyond, here.
 
Fordham Quick Facts
You can find this season's full schedule, roster, and quick facts, plus last year's season statistics, all here.
 
Up Next
The 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship held at UMass next Thursday through Saturday, May 9-11.  
 
Continue to keep up to date with the program on social media: @FordhamSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, and here at FordhamSports.com!