Fairfax, Va. – (May 4, 2019) – With today being "Star Wars Day", the Force was certainly with the Fordham pitching staff on Saturday as they led the Rams struck out 23 batters in a doubleheader split with the George Mason Patriots, earning an Atlantic 10 series win in the final game.
With the split, Fordham improved to 29-21 overall, 10-8 in the Atlantic 10, while George Mason fell to 19-28 on the year, 5-13 in the league.
In game one, Cam Reckling's solo home run in the eighth inning proved to be the difference, as the Patriots topped the Rams, 3-2.
Fordham kicked off game one with two runs in the first, getting three doubles in the first four batters.
C.J. Vazquez hit the first pitch to the right center gap for a double and scored on a double by
Alvin Melendez to the wall in left. One batter later,
Matt Tarabek doubled down the left field line to score Melendez.
George Mason answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at two, taking advantage of a Fordham error.
The game then became a pitcher's duel between Fordham's
John Stankiewicz and George Mason's Jared DiCesare, as the two traded zeroes for the next six innings.
John Stankiewicz
The Patriots though would break the tie in the bottom of the eighth, as Cam Reckling hit a solo home run to left, his third of the season, making it 3-2.
Fordham was unable to score against DiCesare, as he finished the complete game with seven strikeouts. Stankiewicz (6-3) was the hard luck loser, also throwing a complete game, allowing two earned runs on four hits with nine strikeouts. At the plate, Melendez was 2-for-4 with an RBI-double to lead the offense.
In game two,
Anthony DiMeglio and
Kyle Martin both set personal milestones, while holding George Mason to just five hits in a 2-1 Fordham win.
Like game one, Fordham opened the scoring in the first inning, as the Rams put runners at the corners with two outs.
Jason Coules then singled home Vazquez from third.
The Rams added to the lead in the second, loading the bases with Tarabek forcing in a run as he was hit by a pitch for a 2-0 lead.
Kyle Martin
George Mason cut the lead in half in fourth, courtesy of an error and an RBI-single by Greg Popatak, making it a 2-1 game.
From there, it was all about Fordham's pitching duo of
Anthony DiMeglio and
Kyle Martin, as they shut down the Patriots for the final five innings. DiMeglio (4-3) went seven innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run. He finished with nine strikeouts in the game, as he reached 201 career strikeouts, becoming the ninth Ram to reach the 200-plus milestone. Martin then had his own milestone, as he recorded his eighth save of the season, giving him 19 in his career, tying the career saves mark at Fordham with Bobby Aylmer (1987-90) and James Sammut (2005-07). He ended the game with five strikeouts in two innings of relief. At the plate, Vazquez was 2-for-5 with a run scored, while
Jason Coules was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Friday, May 10
th, when the Rams start a three-game Atlantic 10 series with the La Salle Explorers, beginning at 6:00 PM.
