Softball Begins 2022 Campaign with Grand Canyon Kick-Off Classic

Fordham Softball Schedule
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Bronx, N.Y. – The 2022 season is finally here and for Fordham softball that means a trip across the country with this weekend's Grand Canyon Kick-Off Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. The Rams' opening contest will be against Weber State tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern before taking on the hosts at 10:15 p.m. Saturday, Fordham will play Weber State again at 12:30 p.m. and then Kansas at 5:30 p.m. before wrapping things up against Northern Colorado on Sunday at 11 a.m. Only the game against Grand Canyon will be streamed on ESPN+; all others have specific livestat links via the schedule page above. 
 
2022 Season Preview
Head coach Melissa Inouye, entering her fourth season at the helm of the program, and the team's four captains – fifth-years Kelly Bright, Rachel Hubertus, and Brianna Pinto, and senior Makenzie McGrath recapped the team's preseason preparations and spoke on their team goals for the year, plus more, in this video.
 
A-10 Preseason Poll
The Rams were predicted to finish second in the annual Atlantic 10 preseason coaches poll. Fordham garnered 71 points and three first-place votes, finishing just three points shy of last year's champions, George Washington, who received four first-place votes, and ahead of Saint Joseph's, who earned the final two first-place votes and 55 total points. Read about it here.
 
Series Histories
There are none to speak of for this weekend's contests – Fordham has never played against any of the three other schools they'll face.
 
2021 Season Review
The Rams saw a stretch of seven consecutive Atlantic 10 championships snapped last Spring. Fordham earned the #2 seed after finishing the conference season with a 17-3 record, posting a 37-10 overall record by year's end. Devon Miller became the eighth Ram to earn A-10 Rookie of the Year honors, also garnering First Team All-Conference accolades, with Sarah Taffet and Brianna Pinto being named to the Second Team and Bella Ayala and Bailey Enoch landing on the All-Rookie team. The quartet of Miller, Pinto, Madie Aughinbaugh, and Rachel Hubertus all were also selected to the NFCA All-Region Third Team, as well.
 
In the classroom, a program-record 13 Rams also earned Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors, with Aughinbaugh also garnering A-10 All-Academic and both Hubertus and Pinto earning CoSIDA Academic All-District.
 
Fordham saw Aughinbaugh, one of the program's top pitchers and two-way players, graduate among five total, but return every other starter from a year ago, with five freshman joining the program. Coach Inouye, who received a contract extension, also added former Holy Cross head coach Jennifer Lapicki as her associate head coach.
 
Milestone Watch
Brianna Pinto, with the third-most steals in a single season last year, 28, is a mere 14 thefts away from becoming Fordham's all-time steals leader, a likely scenario after doubling that tally a year ago. She is currently fourth with 60 career steals across 141 games and has been thrown out just once in her career, all the way back in April of her freshman campaign. The Franklin Square, N.Y. native is also on pace for a top-10 career batting average, as well, entering her fifth season at .326, which would rank seventh, after setting the single-season record last Spring with a .431 average across 46 contests.   
 
Redshirt senior Rachel Hubertus enjoyed a tremendous comeback season last year, hitting 13 home runs with 54 RBIs, ranked T-10^th and 5^th, respectively in a single year, and is now just five four-baggers and 38 RBIs away from the all-time top-10s. She is already sixth with a current .587 slugging percentage and, like Pinto, is on pace to join the all-time top-10 for batting average, as well, currently at .316.
 
Junior Devon Miller is already tied for 10^th all-time with six career shutouts but she is also on the cusp of the top-10 lists for career wins (currently at 17, six behind) and strikeouts (currently 205, 40 behind).  
 
D1Softball.com's Top 150
Junior pitcher and reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year Devon Miller was named by D1Softball.com as its 149^th-best player in the country heading into the season. You can read about it here, though it is a subscription-based website.
 
Up Next
Fordham remains on the East Coast next weekend for the Battle at the Beach, hosted by Coastal Carolina. The Rams will take on the Chanticleers twice, South Carolina twice, and Marshall once.