Softball Opens Four-Game Series with UMass with 8-5 Win Friday

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team jumped out to a seven-run lead and weathered some middle-inning trouble to defeat visiting Massachusetts, 8-5, in the first game of this weekend's four-game series. With the win, the team's seventh straight, the Rams improve to 32-5 on the year overall and 13-0 in Atlantic 10 action, while the Minutewomen fall to 13-13 and 9-8, respectively.
 
Madie Aughinbaugh made the start for the Rams and was cruising through five frames before several singles and a pair of errors led to five runs, three earned, in the sixth inning. The grad student remained in the game to limit the damage and saw out her 13^th win with a clean seventh. At the plate, the Rams jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings, 7-0 after five, and tacked on an insurance run in the sixth, never trailing on Friday.
 
UMass' leadoff hitter Bella Pantoja singled to begin the game and reached second with one out but Aughinbaugh struck out the next two batters to escape the mini-jam. The Port Tobacco, Md. native then beat out an infield single and moved to third on Julia Martine's double to right center. Rachel Hubertus kicked off the scoring with a RBI single to left, Martine scored on Bella Ayala's groundout to first, and Hubertus scored on a fielding error. The Minutewomen loaded the bases in the second but Aughinbaugh induced a groundout to herself to end the threat. Martine's second double of the day, this time to left center, scored Aughinbaugh all the way from first, to pad the lead in the second frame.
 
Fordham threatened in the third and fourth but couldn't push across any runs, while Aughinbaugh tossed two 1-2-3 innings. In the fifth, the Rams struck for three runs on an Aughinbaugh RBi single with the bases loaded, a sacrifice lineout by Martine, and a throwing error on Brianna Pinto's 27^th stolen base of the year which allowed Aughinbaugh to score from third. UMass responded with three straight hits in the sixth, the latter single driving in the visitors' first run. An error led to a second run and three more softly-hit singles plated three more runs. Aughinbaugh got all three outs in the frame on strikeouts, though, including Kendra Allen, who had led the frame off with a double, to end the inning.
 
The Rams answered back with an insurance run with Sarah Taffet's two-out RBI double to right center to score Bella Ayala. UMass put two on via singles with two outs in the seventh but a groundout to Ayala wrapped things up.
 
Hubertus led the way with her first career four-hit game, driving in one and scoring once. Aughinbaugh, Martine, and Michaela Carter each had two hits, with Carter also reaching via a walk. Aughinbaugh struck out seven over seven innings, her final punchout putting her into a tie with Rachel Gillen ('16) for third-most all-time. Pinto's steal was the 59^th of her career, moving her into a tie with Jessica Hughes ('17) for fourth all-time, while her 27 steals is now third-most in a single season.
 
Fordham and UMass will play a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at noon and Sunday's series finale at noon. All three contests will be streamed live on ESPN+.