Bronx, N.Y. – After nearly 400 days without competition and nearly 700 days since the last home game at Bahoshy Field, it was no surprise to see the Fordham softball team shake off some rust in the early part of its season and home opener against Army on Friday afternoon. The Rams fell behind 4-0 but stormed back over the final two frames, including a booming
Sarah Taffet single to give Fordham its first victory of the new campaign.
"First of all a big thank you to our awesome and hardworking facilities and event staff for getting Bahoshy Field game ready." Head coach
Melissa Inouye said, "It was so nice being home again and competing against a quality opponent. It was also even better to see our players smiling, competing, and getting to play the game they love so much again. It took us a few innings to get settling in but a good pitching staff outing kept us close and a solid comeback with so many contributing. We're looking forward to our next game and the opportunities to get better with each day."
Through the first two innings, the Rams had committed two errors, allowed two runs, and struck out five times. Army starter Alicyn Grete was dealing, racking up 11 strikeouts over four frames, while
Madie Aughinbaugh worked around trouble over the same number of innings, striking out two but allowing four runs, three earned. The Rams began to exert themselves a bit in the fourth.
Brianna Pinto and Aughinbaugh led off with back-to-back singles but were left stranded and, similarly in the fifth,
Aubree Barney and
Michaela Carter were left on base, with Pinto nearly beating out a bunt attempt that would've driven in a run.
The Rams broke through in the sixth with a pair of runs. Aughinbaugh walked to lead off the inning and stole second. Redshirt junior
Rachel Hubertus, making her return to the field after nearly two years out due to injury and the ongoing pandemic, crushed a pitch down the left field line that went just foul. Her next pitch nearly cleared the left centerfield wall but instead resulted in a RBI double.
Gigi Speer replaced her at second, moved to third on a groundout, and then scored on a wild pitch by Jolie Duong.
Devon Miller entered in relief of
Makenzie McGrath, who tossed two clean frames, and worked around an inherited runner in scoring position with a pop-up and two swinging strikeouts. Again new pitcher Emily Iannotti, Barney tallied her second straight walk after coming in the game off the bench to replace
Amanda Carey at backstop and Carter was hit by a pitch to begin the inning. The duo moved over a base on a wild pitch and two batters later, Pinto smacked a single the opposite way to score Barney. Aughinbaugh did the same, driving one through the left side to tie the game up just moments later, scoring Carter. With a runner 60 feet away and one out, Taffet needed to just reach the outfield. She did, ripping a pitch deep into left center over the heads of the outfield defense playing way in for the walk-off win as her teammates mobbed her at second base.
Aughinbaugh, Pinto, and Barney each reached twice safely, the former two tallying a pair of singles. The top four in the batting order each notched a RBI in the game. McGrath and Miller in relief kept the hosts within striking distance. McGrath worked around a pair of walks and a hit, striking out one, while Miller picked up her fifth career victory. Every freshman and sophomore were making their Bahoshy Field debuts.
The Rams will play just one game at Seton Hall instead of the originally scheduled two on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m., but will then host UMass-Lowell on Sunday for a doubleheader beginning at noon.
