Greenville, S.C. – (February 29, 2020) – Saturday's Fordham-Furman baseball tilt saw just about everything go Fordham's way, as the Rams picked up their third straight win with an 8-3 decision over the Paladins at Latham Stadium in Greenville, S.C.
With the win, Fordham improved to 4-6 on the season, while Furman fell to 5-5.
After three scoreless innings, the Rams netted the opening runs of the game in the fourth inning.
Jason Coules began with a single to left, followed by a double by
Jake MacKenzie.
Alvin Melendez then drove in both runners with a single to left center and a 2-0 lead.
Furman answered with two in the bottom of the fifth, which came on a two-run home run by Jordan Starkes, his first of the season.
C.J. Vazquez
Fordham quickly scored again in the sixth to regain a 3-2 lead, as with two on,
Andy Semo drilled a double down the left field line to score Melendez from second. The Rams then tacked on two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth to extend the lead to 8-2.
In the seventh, Fordham got an RBI-double by
C.J. Vazquez and an RBI-single from Coules, while the eighth inning was highlighted by a solo home run by
Zach Selinger, the first of his career, and an RBI-single by Vazquez.
Furman picked up the final run of the game on a wild pitch, but that would not be enough.
Fordham's pitching duo of
John Stankiewicz (1-1) and
Gabe Karslo were solid throughout the game. Stankiewicz earned his first win of the season, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings with five strikeouts, while Karslo picked up his first save of the year with three innings of hitless relief with three strikeouts.
At the plate, Coules finished 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, while Vazquez was 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and two RBI.
Billy Godrick finished 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and a career-high four stolen bases with
Nick Labella and MacKenzie each having a pair of hits.
The final game of the series is set for Sunday at noon.