With the 2020 spring sports season canceled by the COVID-19 outbreak, we at Fordham have decided to dig back through our archives and provide our fans with content on some of the outstanding teams and student-athletes who have graced Rose Hill over the years
Olean, N.Y. (April 19, 2017) – 35-10. That was that two-game overall score during Fordham softball's
doubleheader sweep on the road at St. Bonaventure, including a single-game program record of 23 runs and a record-tying 21 RBI in game one. During those six innings, then-senior Sydney Canessa went a perfect 6-for-6 at the dish with a career-high eight teammates driven in, just one shy of Beckah Wiggins' benchmark. Her six hits became a new school record.
"I remember the weather was really iffy, with a high chance of rain throughout the whole afternoon," Canessa said, "The weather turned out to be awful - it was literally pouring sheets of rain from the first pitch until the last out, but that didn't stop any of us from doing our jobs."
All nine batters in the lineup recorded at least one hit to begin the doubleheader, led by Canessa's six from the top of the lineup. The team's 21 hits fell just four shy of the record, unfortunately, but there were also eight walks. The scoring began with a
Madi Shaw sacrifice fly and a RBI groundout from
Skylar Johnston. The Rams plated two more when Canessa singled in
Jordy Storm and an error led to Ally Vergona scoring. The Bonnies actually took a 6-4 lead later in the frame, with all runs unearned, but a Shaw solo bomb, a
Madie Aughinbaugh bases loaded walk, and a two-run single by Canessa put Fordham ahead for good, eventually winning 23-8. Canessa later ripped a grand slam on the first pitch she saw of her at bat in the fourth frame and drove in her eighth teammate with a single in the sixth.
The 2017 Rams
Canessa tied Vergona with four runs apiece, the latter tallying three hits and a walk, while Johnston went off for three hits and Aughinbaugh, Storm, and
Lauren Quense each tallied a pair of knocks, the latter smacking two doubles. The former two scored three times apiece, as well. In the circle, Quense picked up her 16
th win of the season.
"I really had no idea about how many at-bats or hits I had during the game. It wasn't until the post-game huddle that we had set a team record. It was a really special moment, knowing that it happened during a game when the team set a record, too. It was awesome knowing every single player contributed. Every single person was swinging at good pitches and driving balls into the gaps. Games like that were what we worked towards day in and day out. The best part was that it showed that our team chemstry was exactly where it needed to be heading into the last few weeks of the regular season."
The prolific 2017 Rams ended up setting the new single-season for batting average, hitting .310 as a group, just one point better than the 2015 squad. They also shattered the records for runs (387), RBIs (351), and walks (269), and set new records with 801 total bases and a .410 on-base percentage.
Canessa finished her senior campaign with a four consecutive Atlantic 10 championship and was one of a record five Rams to earn First Team All-Conference. She earned Second Team NFCA All-Region and ECAC First Team, as well. She slashed .337/.457/.526 as a senior, starting all 63 contests for a 46-17 team, with a 41/10 walk-strikeout ratio, 66 hits, 54 runs, and 11 stolen bases, with not a single error in the field and 97 putouts.
The Wall, N.J. native never missed a game and started all 237 contests during her four years in the Bronx, tied for second all-time, becoming the program's all-time leader in runs scored, with 193. Canessa's name is all over the record books at Fordham, finishing her career in the top-10 in nearly every hitting category – most notably fifth with a career .329 batting average, third with 384 total bases, fourth with 247 hits and joint-second with 111 walks. Perhaps most impressively, she finished her career with a .983 fielding percentage in centerfield, committing just six errors over four seasons, including none as a sophomore and senior.
Palisades Park, N.J. (April 19, 2008) - The Fordham track & field teams had an extremely successful day at the 2008 Metropolitan Outdoor Championships, as the men won their first ever team competition, while the women had their highest ever finish, taking second behind St. John's.
Matt Lowenthal and Brian Horowitz
The Fordham men won the Metropolitan Championship with a team score of 193 points.
Individually, Fordham junior Matt DiBuono was named Athlete of the Meet, as he won two events and took second in another. He took first in the hammer throw with a toss of 59.98m, bettering his NCAA qualifying mark set earlier in 2008, as well as the discus throw (44.31m). He also took second in the shot put with a mark of 14.77m.
Tom Finnerty also won an event, taking the 1500 meters in 3:59.76, while anchoring the 4x800 relay team to a victory in 7:51.39, along with
Brian Horowitz, Matt Lowenthal, and Ryan Serkes.
The men's 4x400 relay, consisting of Brandon Ryan, Clifton Hilario, Michael Kearney, and Brian Schmidt, won their event in a season-best time of 3:17.76. Schmidt also added a third place finish in the 800 meters in a season-best time of 1:53.79, while Kearney scored in the 200 (5th) and 400 (6th) meter events.
The Fordham women were second with 144 points behind only St. John's 158 points.
Leading the way for the Fordham, Melissa Salerno and Brigid Moriarty were both dual event winners. Moriarty won the 5,000 meter run in 18:30.77, and then captured the 10,000 meter run in 38:18.92.
Salerno won the 800 meters in a season-best time of 2:14.44, and then captured the 1500 meters in 4:38.41. She topped off the day by helping the 4x800 relay team (Dana Mitchell, Salerno, Bridget Carroll, & Kerri Gallagher) to a first place finish in a season-best time of 9:18.49.
