Bronx, N.Y. – (March 13, 2021) – In what was one of the longest games in Fordham baseball history, Fairleigh Dickinson's Justin Sierra connected on a two-run triple in the top of the 16
th inning to lift the Knights to a 4-2 win over the Rams at Houlihan Park on Saturday afternoon.
The lengthy affair was FDU's first win of the season (1-2), while being the first loss for Fordham (6-1). It snapped a 15-game regular season win streak by the Rams, dating back to last year, and the first loss at Houlihan Park since April 19, 2019.
Fordham opened with a 1-0 lead in the fourth, when
Jake Guercio led off with a single down the right field line and moved to second on a walk to
Jason Coules. After advancing on an out, Guercio scored on a wild pitch.
The Rams made it 2-0 in the sixth, as Guercio and Coules were at it again. Guercio led off with a bunt single and advanced to third on a stolen base and an error. Coules then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Guercio.
The Knights then tied the game at two in the seventh on a two-run single by T.J. Werner.
Jake Guercio
Fordham then had a number of chances to regain the lead or walk off with a win. The Rams had the go-ahead or winning run at third six times from the seventh to the 15
th inning but could not record the winning run. The best opportunities were in the 11
th inning with the bases loaded and one out and the 15
th inning, when
Jack Harnisch was at third with one out, after he connected on a double and was sacrificed to third.
The game finished in the 16
th inning, as with two outs, FDU got a pair of singles and a two-run triple by Justin Sierra for a 4-2 edge.
The Rams had one more shot, getting the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the frame, but Jude Baxt recorded the final three outs for the Knights.
The 16-inning game tied for the second longest game in Fordham baseball history with the 1948 contest at St. John's (5/10/1948), while trailing only the 19-inning affair with Clemson at the 1988 NCAA Regional (5/26/1988). A total of 453 pitches were thrown in the game, which led to the Fordham pitching staff tying a school record with 21 team strikeouts in the contest (21, vs. Bowdoin (3/31/1909); 21, vs. Hofstra (5/1/2018)).
Ben Kovel (0-1) took the loss allowing the two runs in the 16
th.
Cory Wall started the game with three shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out three, while
Garrett Crowley posted a career-high nine strikeouts in a career-long outing of six innings.
Jack Popolizio tossed three scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts with
Joseph Quintal also posting three scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
At the plate, Guercio was 2-for-6 with two runs scored, while Coules was 2-for-5 with two walks and an RBI. Harnisch was the only other Rams with two hits in the game (2-for-7).
The Rams and Knights wrap up their series on Sunday at noon.
