Baseball Opens A-10 Conference Play This Weekend Against St. Bonaventure

Bronx, N.Y. – (April 8, 2021) – The Fordham baseball team begins Atlantic 10 play this weekend with a four-game series with the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at Houlihan Park.  The series has been changed a touch as the teams will play a 9-inning/7-inning doubleheader on Friday at 1:00 PM and a 7-inning/9-inning doubleheader on Saturday at noon.  The changes were made due to the potential of rain on Sunday.
 
Fordham enters the weekend with a 12-6 overall mark, picking up a 1-0 win in the series finale with Seton Hall last weekend, behind a brilliant performance from Matt Mikulski, as he threw his first career complete game shutout.  St. Bonaventure is 1-8 on the season after going 1-3 last weekend in a four-game non-conference series with George Mason.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday (G1): Fordham – RHP Cameron Knox (0-1, 4.82 ERA) vs. St. Bonaventure – LHP Liam Devine (0-1, 19.29 ERA) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Friday (G2): Fordham – LHP Garrett Crowley (2-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. St. Bonaventure – LHP Donovan Moffat (1-1, 3.60 ERA) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday (G1): Fordham – LHP Matt Mikulski (4-0, 1.17 ERA) vs. St. Bonaventure – RHP Elijah Baez (0-3, 4.41 ERA) // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday (G2): Fordham – RHP Gabe Karslo (2-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. St. Bonaventure – RHP Andrew White (0-1, 7.71 ERA) // Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Rams and Bonnies have had most of their games as members of the Atlantic 10, but the overall series does date beyond 1996, all the way back to 1907.  Fordham holds the overall series lead with a 38-27 record with the Rams getting the better of the Bonnies since Kevin Leighton took over as Fordham's head coach in 2012.  The Rams are 14-4 in that span against the Bonnies.
 
LAST TIME OUT (4/3): Saturday was a pitching classic at Mike Sheppard Sr. Stadium in South Orange, New Jersey, as Fordham's Matt Mikulski tossed a complete game two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts to lead the Rams to a 1-0 win over the Seton Hall Pirates.
 
The game was a classic pitcher's duel between Fordham's Matt Mikulski and Seton Hall's David Festa, as the two went zero for zero on the scoreboard.  Each pitcher allowed just one hit through the first six innings, as Festa allowed a single to Will Findlay, while Mikulski's only blemish was an infield single to Casey Dana.

 
Fordham then broke the deadlock in the seventh inning.  With two outs, Alvin Melendez drew a walk and was followed by an RBI-double off the center field wall by Zach Selinger for the 1-0 lead.
 
The single run was all Mikulski needed as he finished off the complete game shutout with a stellar performance.  After allowing a leadoff double in the ninth, he struck out the first batter, and followed with a ground out and a pop out for the last three outs.  Mikulski improved to 4-0 on the season, allowing just two hits with 12 strikeouts for his first career complete game shutout.  The 12 strikeouts also gave him another milestone, becoming the ninth Ram to reach 200 career strikeouts.
              
MIKULSKI REPEATS AS A-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK (4/5): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham senior pitcher Matt Mikulski receiving Pitcher of the Week honors for the second consecutive week.  It is Mikulski's fourth career weekly award and third pitching accolade.
 
Mikulski made this week's decision pretty easy after a masterpiece effort against Seton Hall.   He threw the first complete game shutout of his career, allowing just two hits, while striking out 12 Pirate batters. It marked the third straight game he has reached double-digit strikeouts.  Mikulski also hit a career milestone with the final strikeout, as he became just the ninth Ram to reach 200 career strikeouts.
 
HITTING MILESTONES: In the Seton Hall series, two Fordham Rams, Alvin Melendez and Matt Mikulski, each hit a notable career milestone.  In game two of the series, Melendez his a two-run home run to left, which was the 150^th hit of his career.  In the series finale, Mikulski tossed his first career complete game shutout, striking out 12 batters in the game.  The 12 strikeouts gave him 200 in his career, becoming the ninth Ram to reach that milestone.
 
OFF TO A GOOD START: With the team at 12-6 on the year, it's no surprise that the Rams' pitching staff is at the forefront.  As of April 8^th, Fordham leads the Atlantic 10 with a team 3.20 ERA, which is good for 15^th in the NCAA, while also leading the league in hits allowed per nine innings (6.07 – 3^rd nationally) and shutouts (3 - T20th nationally).  So far, Fordham's top arms have been a pair of lefties in Matt Mikulski and Garrett Crowley.  Mikulski is 4-0 on the year with a 1.17 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 30.2 inning pitched, while Crowley is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 20 innings.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Over the last five seasons, Fordham's Houlihan Park has been a friendly home to the Rams.  The Maroon and White have a 70-25 regular season home record in that time, good for a .737 win percentage.  The Rams had a string of 15 straight regular season home wins that dated back to 2019, snapped on March 13^th.
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams will next be in action on Tuesday, April 13^th, when the team hosts Army West Point for a 3:00 PM contest.  After that, Fordham hits the road for a four-game series at Rhode Island, April 16-18.