Friday/Sunday:
Live Stats
Saturday:
Live Stats
Bronx, N.Y. – It's been 361 days since Fordham softball last played a game and it's been 670 days since the Rams last played at Bahoshy Field, but that all comes to an end on Friday afternoon when Fordham hosts Army for a solo contest at 1 p.m. Friday's game is one of 34 home contests out of 52 total games currently scheduled for this season. The Rams will also host UMass-Lowell on Sunday for a doubleheader beginning at noon and will travel to Seton Hall on Saturday, also for a noon doubleheader.
"Excited is an understatement for the upcoming 2021 season as it's been almost a year since we last competed." Third-year Head coach
Melissa Inouye said, "Despite travel restrictions, we're really happy with the schedule we were able to put together. We have a variety of good Northeast teams from several conferences and are looking forward to playing some new teams as well. We still feel that our preseason games will help prepare us for conference play and now we just need a little better softball weather to play in."
2021 Schedule
The Rams will play contests against regional teams from the America East, Big East, Colonial, Northeast, and Patriot conferences, beginning with the latter on Friday, one of five scheduled home games against the Black Knights and six total.
Following opening weekend, the Rams will remain at home for 11 consecutive contests over the next two weeks before hitting the road. Fordham will host St. John's for one game on March 10 and Seton Hall for one game on March 17, both starting at 3 p.m. In between, the Rams will host Sacred Heart, Bryant, and Army for doubleheaders, before hosting Maine for a three-game series on March 20-21. Before the start of Atlantic 10 play with four games at UMass on March 26-28, the Rams will head to St. John's for a one-off on March 24 at 3 p.m.
Before hosting La Salle for four games over two days on April 2-3, the Rams will host Stony Brook on March 31 with a 3 p.m. start time and will head to Stony Brook on April 8. Fordham will host St. Bonaventure for three games on April 10-11 before hosting UConn on April 14 at 4 p.m., and then head on the road for two weeks, first with four games at Rhode Island on April 17-18, one game at Hofstra on April 21 at 6 p.m., and four games at La Salle on April 24-25. The Rams will host Fairleigh Dickinson for a doubleheader on April 28 before hosting UMass for four games on April 30-May 2, play at Army on May 4, then finish the regular season with four games at Bahoshy Field against Saint Joseph's from May 7-9.
Season Review/Preview
The Rams played in 20 contests over four weekends last February and March before the season was cut short due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Fordham went 7-13 over that month of action, including a 7-8 mark in true neutral games. Every single Ram from last year's squad returns along with the addition of three incoming freshman and the return of redshirt junior
Rachel Hubertus, one of four team captains this year in addition to
Madie Aughinbaugh,
Brianna Pinto, and
Kelly Bright.
Series History vs. Army
Army leads the all-time series, 21-4, since 1987, with the Black Knights winning 13 straight until a 5-2 home win for the Rams came in 1994. The two schools have met just once in the past 15 years, with Fordham winning, 6-0, at home in 2014.
Series History vs. Seton Hall
The Rams hold a slim 15-14 all-time advantage since the series began in 1987. The Rams have dominated in recent years, however, with wins in 13 of the last 16 dating back to 2004, including a current four-game win streak. Most recently, the Rams defeated the Pirates, 5-0 and 9-2, in 2017 and 2018, respectively, at home.
Madie Aughinbaugh picked up wins in both of those, starting and going the distance in the latter, striking out six with two runs allowed over seven frames, and going 3-for-4 at the plate, too.
Kelly Bright also featured off the bench as a pinch hitter.
Series History vs. UMass-Lowell
The two schools first met only three years ago with Fordham holding a 2-1 advantage. The lone game at Bahoshy Field was the first meeting – a 5-2 win in 2018. That came the day before the team's win over Seton Hall, with Aughinbaugh picking up her first win of the year against the River Hawks. Her and
Brianna Pinto each notched a hit, as well. Last year, Fordham played UMass-Lowell at two different tournaments – one in Houston, Texas and one in Fort Myers, Fla.
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.
The 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship will be a four-school tournament hosted by the regular season champions.
