Baseball Continues Homestand with Three-Game Series Against Iona

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 5, 2020) – Following its fifth straight win on Wednesday, the Fordham baseball team continues its six-game homestand at Houlihan Park with a three-game series against the Iona Gaels this weekend.
 
Fordham (6-6) evened its record on Wednesday afternoon with a solid 3-1 win over the NJIT Highlanders.  The Rams are still clicking on all cylinders, led by A-10 Co-Player of the Week Jason Coules, who extended his hit streak to nine games against NJIT, and Alvin Melendez, who has 11 RBI in the last five contests.
 
Iona (3-8) comes into this game playing well.  The Gaels recently swept a three-game series at George Mason last weekend, while falling to Fairleigh Dickinson, 12-11, on Wednesday.  Brian Picone leads the offensive charge with a .311 batting average to go with 10 runs scored and 10 RBI, while Jake Liberatore has a team-high .319 average with 10 runs scored.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – Fordham - LHP Matt Mikulski (1-1, 1.76) vs. Iona - RHP Stephen Hansen (1-1, 2.79) // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday - Fordham - RHP John Stankiewicz (1-1, 2.25) vs. Iona – LHP Mario Ferraioli (1-1, 5.79) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday - Fordham - RHP Cory Wall (1-1, 7.50) vs. Iona - RHP Vicente Mendoza (1-0, 7.00) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: Dating back to 1948, Fordham and Iona have met 86 times with Fordham holding a 57-28-1 lead in the all-time series.  The Rams have won six straight against the Gaels, which includes 9-2 and 5-1 wins last season at Houlihan Park.  Iona's last win came in 2015 in New Rochelle.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Facing off against the fourth-ranked offense in the NCAA averaging ten runs per game, the Fordham Rams had their work cut out for them against the NJIT Highlanders on Wednesday afternoon at Houlihan Park.  The Rams' pitching staff was up to the task, limiting the Highlanders to just one run and six hits, as Fordham came away with a 3-1 victory.
 
The Rams got on the scoreboard right away in the first inning.  With two outs and a runner at first, Jake MacKenzie singled through the right side, moving Jason Coules to third.  Alvin Melendez followed with a single up the middle to plate Coules for a 1-0 lead.
 
Fordham made it 2-0 in the fourth inning, as Andy Semo singled home Zach Selinger from second base, after he reached on a single.
 
NJIT cut the Fordham lead to 2-1 in the fifth when Andrew Elcock plated Albert Choi from third with a ground out.
 
The score remained at 2-1 until the Rams tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning for a 3-1 lead.  C.J. Vazquez and Coules led off the inning with back-to-back singles with Vazquez moving to third on a fly out.  He then scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Melendez.
 
That cushion was enough for the Fordham pitching staff, as five pitchers combined on a six-hitter.  Alex Henderson (1-1) opened the game with two scoreless innings, while Gabe Karslo tossed the next three innings, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts.  Jack Popolizio followed with two-thirds of inning pitched, while Garrett Crowley had one strikeout in 1.1 innings of work.  Melendez closed out the game for the save, pitching two scoreless innings for his first of the year and 13^th of his career.

 
At the plate, the Rams tallied nine hits by eight different players.  Melendez was the lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base, extending his hit streak to seven games.  Coules also extended his personal-best hit streak to nine games and added a run scored.
 
COULES NAMED A-10 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK (3/2): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham sophomore outfielder Jason Coules (Bellmore, N.Y.) earning Co-Player of the Week honors for games through March 1^st.  This is his first career weekly award, as he shares the honor with Rhode Island's Josh Brodeur. 
 
Coules batted .562 (9-for-16) with a .636 on-base percentage and .625 slugging percentage, helping Fordham to a 4-0 week on the diamond.  He totaled three-multi-hit games, six runs scored, six RBI, four walks, and three stolen bases. 
 
Coules opened the week going 2-for-5 with a run scored and two stolen bases in a 13-inning win over Sacred Heart on Wednesday.  He then went 1-for-2 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI in the series opening win at Furman.  He capped the weekend with back-to-back three-hit games against the Paladins and tied a career-high with four RBI in the series finale.
 
HOT START: In the early part of the 2020 campaign, Fordham's trio of Jason Coules, Jake MacKenzie, and Alvin Melendez have solidified the middle of the Rams' batting order.  Coules has been hot from the starting, batting .436 with 12 runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBI, while Melendez has 12 RBI in 11 games to go with a .375 average, four doubles, six runs scored, and six stolen bases.  MacKenzie is right behind Melendez at .341 with seven runs scored, two doubles, six RBI, and six stolen bases.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Fordham finishes off its homestand next week with two home games.  On Wednesday, March 11^th, the Rams host Wagner at 3:00 PM, while St. John's comes to Houlihan Park on Friday, March 13^th.