Baseball Heads to Philly for Four Games at Saint Joseph’s

Bronx, N.Y. – (April 22, 2021) – The Fordham baseball team will get back into league action this weekend, when the Rams travel to Philadelphia for a four-game conference series at Smithson Field.
 
It is a pivotal series for Fordham (16-10, 3-1 A-10) as the team looks to get back on track after missing out on an Atlantic 10 series with Rhode Island last weekend, as stay right with the leaders of the Atlantic 10's North Division.
 
One of those leaders is the Hawks, who stand at 11-8 overall with a 6-2 mark in the Atlantic 10.  La Salle is also 6-2 in the league atop the division.  Saint Joseph's enters the series off a four-game split at St. Bonaventure after sweeping Massachusetts to start conference play.  The Hawks are hitting well at a .280 team clip, led by Brendan Hueth, who is batting .385 with 12 extra base hits, 16 runs scored, and 18 RBI
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday: Fordham – RHP Brooks Ey (0-2, 3.98 ERA) at Saint Joseph's – RHP Ian McCole (1-2, 4.06 ERA) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday (G1): Fordham – LHP Matt Mikulski (5-0, 0.86 ERA) at Saint Joseph's – LHP Luke Zimmerman (1-2, 9.58 ERA) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday (G2): Fordham – LHP Garrett Crowley (3-1, 2.81 ERA) at Saint Joseph's – LHP Lucas Rollins (1-1, 4.50 ERA) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday: Fordham – RHP Gabe Karslo (3-1, 3.21 ERA) at Saint Joseph's – RHP Ryan Devine (2-1, 5.09 ERA) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: The two Jesuit institutions have played each other plenty since Fordham's entry into the Atlantic 10, seeing each other on 62 occasions since 1996.  The Rams hold the slimmest of margins in the all-time series at 31-30-1, which has flipped in Fordham's favor due to a nine-game win streak against the Hawks.  Saint Joseph's last win in the series was at the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship, when the Hawks knocked the Rams out of the Championship with a 7-6 win, which was the last of eight straight victories for the Hawks over Fordham.
 
LAST TIME OUT (4/20): Army's Carter Macias and Anthony Giachin each rove in three runs on Tuesday afternoon, as the Black Knights defeated the Fordham Rams, 8-2, at Doubleday Fieldup at West Point.
 
The Rams kicked off the scoring with a run in the first inning when Nick Labella connected on an RBI-single to left, scoring Jake Guercio from third.  Andy Semo and Richard Grund followed with back-to-back singles, but the rally ended with Labella being thrown out at home on Grund's hit.
 
Army West Point answered immediately with two runs in the bottom of the frame, getting RBI-doubles from Carter Macias and Nick Manesis for a 2-1 lead. The Black Knights then took control with a four-run second inning to increase the lead to 6-1, highlighted by a two-run triple by Macias.  Then in the fourth, Anthony Giachin connected on a two-run home run to right for an 8-1 lead.
 
Fordham capped the scoring in the ninth when C.J. Vazquez plated Chris Genaro with a sacrifice fly for the 8-2 final.
 

James Springer (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs in his lone inning of work, as he was one of six Fordham pitchers on the afternoon.  At the plate, the Rams managed ten hits from ten players, which included the first career hit for Michael Taylor.
 
ON THE WATCH: Senior pitcher Matt Mikulski continues to get national attention, earning another nod on a national watch list.  On April 14^th, he was put on the Midseason Watch List for the Golden Spikes Award, presented by USA Baseball, while on April 21^st, he was among those listed for the National Pitcher of the Year Award, presented by the College Baseball Foundation. 
 
Mikulski is making his senior season a special one.  In his latest start against Towson, he extended his scoreless innings streak to 20.2 innings, while moving into second place on the Rams' career strikeout list with 224, passing both Brett Kennedy and Reiss Knehr (218).  On the year, Mikulski is 5-0 with a 0.86 ERA in 41.2 innings with 76 strikeouts.  He currently leads the conference in ERA (5^th nationally), hits allowed per nine innings (3.46 - 4^th nationally), strikeouts (7^th nationally), strikeouts per nine innings (16.42 – 4^th nationally), and WHIP (0.77 – 6^th nationally).
 
LEFTIES DOING IT RIGHT: With the success Fordham pitching has had in 2021, a good portion can be found in the dynamic left-handed duo of Matt Mikulski and Garrett Crowley.  Over the last four starts for each, the two have been outstanding, combining for a 5-1 record, three complete games, and 74 strikeouts over 42.2 innings.  They have a combined 1.48 ERA and .124 opponent batting average, while against lefties in that span, they have allowed only one hit in 24 at bats.
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams will be home for their next Atlantic 10 series, when they host Massachusetts for a four-game series at Houlihan Park from April 30 – May 2.