Baseball Hosts La Salle in Final Home Series

Bronx, N.Y. – (May 9, 2019) – Following nine straight road games, the Fordham baseball team is back at home this weekend at Houlihan Park for its final Atlantic 10 home series against the La Salle Explorers.
 
Fordham (29-21, 10-8) went 6-3 on the nine-game road swing, finishing it with a conference series win at George Mason.  The Rams now find themselves right in the middle of the playoff hunt with six games remaining.  Heading into this weekend, the Rams are tied for fifth place in the Atlantic 10 standings with Rhode Island and Saint Joseph's, and are just a game back of Richmond for fourth place.
 
The Rams take on the La Salle Explorers (24-26, 3-15), who bring a potent lineup to the Bronx, boasting nine players with a batting average of .268 or higher, led by Peyton Sorrels, who had a team-high .371 average to go with 11 doubles and 51 runs scored.  The Explorers also have the tandem of Tatem Levin and Ben Faso in the middle of the order, who have a combined 16 home runs and 103 RBI this season.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE
Friday: Fordham – LHP Matt Mikulski (5-5, 4.02) vs. La Salle – LHP Colin Scanlon (4-3, 4.33) // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday: Fordham – RHP John Stankiewicz (6-3, 1.32) vs. La Salle – TBA // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday: Fordham – RHP Anthony DiMeglio (4-3, 2.47) vs. La Salle - TBA // Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and La Salle have been conference rivals since 1984, whether in the MAAC or the Atlantic 10.  The teams have met 62 times prior to this weekend with Fordham holding the edge at 37-24-1.  The Rams have won each of the last four series with La Salle, including last year's series in Philadelphia.  The Explorers won the opener of that series, 6-5, while Fordham took the final two games, 4-3 and 12-8.
 
LAST TIME OUT (5/4): On "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.
 
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.

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.

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.
 
MARTIN NAMED A-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK (5/6):  The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday, with Fordham pitcher Kyle Martin (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) being named the conference's Pitcher of the Week.  This is Martin's first weekly award of the season, and marks the sixth time that a Fordham player has been Pitcher of the Week this season, joining John Stankiewicz (twice), Matt Mikulski, Anthony DiMeglio, and Cory Wall.
 
Martin had a hand in all three Fordham wins on the week, posting a 2-0 record and a save out of the Fordham bullpen.  He held opponents to a .118 batting average over five innings of work with nine total strikeouts. 
 
The junior earned the win in relief in an extra-inning win over Albany on Tuesday, and then did the same in the series opener at George Mason.  Against Mason, Martin tossed two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts in an extra-inning win on Friday.  Then in the series finale on Saturday, he recorded his eighth save of the season, registering five strikeouts in two innings of work.  The save on Saturday was his 19^th career save, which tied the all-time mark at Fordham, held by Bobby Aylmer (1987-90) and James Sammut (2005-07).
 
RAMS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS (5/8): 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 2.86, as well as in overall in swipes with 143.  The Rams are also eighth in the nation in team ERA with an Atlantic 10-best mark of 3.16, 10^th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.34), 10^th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.2), and 13^th in sacrifice bunts (38).  Individually, Jake MacKenzie is fifth in the nation in stolen bases (36) and eighth in triples (6), while John Stankiewicz is seventh in ERA (1.32), fifth in WHIP (0.84), and 13^th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.00).
 
CLOSING IN ON MILESTONES: A number of Rams have hit or are closing in on some career 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 – 53 (record is 55 by Greg Smith)
Career RBI – Justin Bardwell – 115 (five 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 – 70 (four shy of tying for fifth all-time at Fordham)
Career Strikeouts – Anthony DiMeglio – 201 (ninth Ram to reach 200)
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Fordham baseball team is back on the road for the final conference series of the season at Dayton, May 16-18.