Houston, Texas – The Fordham softball team dropped both of its Saturday contests at the Houston Invitational, falling in a third straight one-run game, 6-5, against Valparaiso in the afternoon and, 6-1, against the hosts, Houston, in the evening. With the results, the Rams drop to 0-4 on the young season.
In a rematch against Valparaiso, the Rams rallied twice, once to tie the game up, 2-2, in the fourth inning, and to get within one with a three-run sixth inning.
Julia Martine provided the game-tying hit in the fourth with a two-out, two-run single, scoring
Madie Aughinbaugh and
Sarah Taffet. To that point, junior
Anne Marie Prentiss made her first start of the campaign and tallied a career-high four strikeouts over four frames. The Crusaders broke the tie against
Makenzie McGrath, making her season debut, with a two-out RBI single with the bases loaded before McGrath was able to escape the jam with a swinging strikeout. Valparaiso scored three more in the sixth on a two-out, three-run home run, before Fordham rallied in the bottom half of the frame.
Gianna Ranieri provided the hit, also with two outs, with a bases-loaded two-run single through the right side to score
Katelyn Vara and
Kelly Bright. McGrath worked around runners in scoring position in the seventh but the Rams couldn't find the equalizing run after that.
The Rams tallied five hits and five walks to three strikeouts in the game. Aughinbaugh led the way reaching base twice and scoring twice.
Aubree Barney made her Rams debut and walked once in two plate appearances.
The Rams struggled to get anything going in the nightcap against the Cougars, tallying three hits against starter M Lee. Fordham's lone run came on freshman
Amanda Carey's solo home run in the fifth, cutting the deficit to one run, 2-1. It's Carey's second home run in two days to start her collegiate career. The Cougars responded with four runs in the bottom half of the frame to pull away, however.
Aughinbaugh allowed four runs over 4.2 frames, didn't walk anyone, and struck out four, before giving way to
Devon Miller, who allowed just one walk over 1.1 innings with a strikeout. Taffet and
Michaela Carter had the Rams' other two hits in the contest, with Aughinbaugh also drawing a walk. Aughinbaugh also notched her first stolen base of the year in game one, while
Brianna Pinto tallied her third.
Fordham will wrap up play in Houston on Sunday against Northwestern State at 12:30 p.m. EST.
