Softball Begins Five-Game Homestand this Week with Stony Brook on Tuesday

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team (15-3, 4-0) has rattled off 12 straight wins, including a four-game sweep at Massachusetts this past weekend. The Rams return home this week for five more contests, first against Stony Brook (13-5, 2-0) on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. and then welcoming La Salle (0-9, 0-4) this coming weekend for two doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham defeated St. John's and UMass by a combined 42-9, with three five-inning run-rule victories, last week. There were numerous standout performances up and down the lineup and in the circle for the Rams. Head over to the team's schedule page to read each day's recap here.
 
Series History vs. Stony Brook
The Seawolves hold a slim 3-2 series advantage since the two schools first met in 2003 when they split a doubleheader on Long Island. Since, Stony Brook has won one home and away and the Rams defeated the Seawolves, 13-0, in five innings in 2017 at home. The most recent meeting was a 4-1 Stony Brook win on the road in 2019. Only Rachel Hubertus and Sarah Taffet were in the lineup of the current roster, and Gianna Ranieri and Makenzie McGrath pitched, but current Sealwolf Melissa Rahrich shut the Rams down, holding them to just one run on three hits.
 
Series History vs. La Salle
Fordham holds a 38-23 all-time series record against the Explorers, including a 21-5 mark in the Bronx, since the first meeting in 1985 when both schools were in the MAAC. The Rams have won 20 straight meetings since 2009, including a three-game sweep at home in 2018 by a combined 16-3 score.
 
Nationally Speaking (as of 3/29)
With a 15-3 start to the season, tied for the 21^st best win percentage (.833), it's no surprise to see the Rams high up in the national rankings across Division I. The Rams as a squad are 15^th overall with a .422 on-base percentage, 23^rd in scoring, 6.5 runs per game, 26^th in batting average, at .317, and 29^th with a .519 slugging percentage. Fordham is hitting 1.11 home runs per game, ranked 40^th, and is 65^th with a collective 2.69 ERA.
 
At the individual level, Michaela Carter and Brianna Pinto, with batting averages over .400, rank 98^th and 134^th, respectively, in the nation, while Rachel Hubertus is 54^th with 1.11 runs batted in per game, and Madie Aughinbaugh is 56^th with 0.72 walks per game and 70^th with an even one run scored per game. Aughinbaugh, at 0.50, and Pinto, at 0.44, are also 62^nd and 110^th in stolen bases per game.
 
In the circle, Devon Miller is up to 21^st with 10.9 strikeouts per seven innings and is 40^th with 4.02 hits allowed per seven, while Aughinbaugh is 96^th with a 1.64 ERA.
 
Aughinbaugh Climbing the Ranks
The fifth-year two-way Aughinbaugh continues her steady climb up the all-time ranks in program history, within the top-five and often the top-three in every pitching category. She is also just barely outside the four-year batting average top-10, just one point behind Allison Storc's ('08) career .313 mark. On Saturday, Aughinbaugh made her 125^th career appearance, joining former teammate Lauren Quense in a tie for third all-time at Fordham. It was her 61^st career win and she moved up to seventh all-time with a 2.53 career ERA. She is now two starts away from 100, as well, and is also eighth all-time with 39 career steals, one behind Brianna Pinto as the two race ahead together up the list this season.
 
Devon Miller Named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week
Due to the unusual circumstances of the past year, the A-10 is allowing freshmen and sophomores to be eligible for the weekly honor and sophomore pitcher Miller was the first Ram to earn one this season. The Chadds Ford, Pa. native made just one appearance two weeks ago but it was worth the wait – Miller struck out 15 Maine Black Bears in her first career complete game, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk. It was the most strikeouts by a Fordham pitcher since 2016 and the first 15-punchout game since 2015, both by Rachel Gillen. For good measure, Miller also doubled and walked in the contest. Read about it here.

Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll
The Rams were picked to finish second in the annual preseason head coaches poll, just one point behind George Washington despite garnering one more first-place vote. The two schools were set to meet in the Championship final in 2019 but due to a rain out, the higher seed, Fordham, moved on to NCAA Regionals despite a share of the championship. It was the Rams' seventh straight league title, eighth overall, and ninth trip to Regionals.
 
Up Next
The Rams will travel to Stony Brook next Thursday for a one-off at 3 p.m. before returning home to host St. Bonaventure for three games over Saturday and Sunday.