Bronx, N.Y. – (March 1, 2022) – The Fordham baseball team will look to get back on the winning track on Wednesday, following its rough weekend at Virginia Tech. The Rams host the Manhattan Jaspers in the next chapter in "The Battle of the Bronx" at Houlihan Park in an added game to the schedule, starting at 3:00 PM.
Fordham (1-6) look to regain some of the offensive barrage from last week, when Fordham scored 19 runs in a shutout win over Sacred Heart, while Manhattan (1-5) is on a four-game slide entering Wednesday's contest.
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Fordham – RHP
Robbie Stewart (0-0, 0.00) vs. Manhattan – RHP Kyle Lesler (0-0, 8.10) //
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SERIES HISTORY: Wednesday renews the "Battle of the Bronx" series between Fordham & Manhattan after a two-year hiatus. It is the first of two meetings in 2022, as the teams will also match up on March 29
th at Clover Stadium in Pomona, N.Y. Based on available records, this is the 122
nd meeting between the two crosstown rivals with Fordham leading the all-time series, 82-36-3. The last meeting came in 2019, a 9-0 win by the Rams at Houlihan Park.
LAST TIME OUT: Virginia Tech's Drue Hackenberg allowed one run over five innings, while Eduardo Malinowski hit a home for the third straight day, as the Hokies completed a three-game sweep of the Fordham Rams, 7-3, in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Fordham opened the scoring in the first inning, as
C.J. Vazquez and
Jack Harnisch led off with back-to-back singles, and advanced into scoring position on a ground out. Vazquez then scored on a wild pitch.
The lead was short lived as the Hokies scored in the bottom of the first, as a walk, stolen base, and an error put Nick Biddison at third base with no outs. Gavin Cross the plated Biddison with a ground out.
The Hokies then went up 2-1 in the second on a sacrifice fly and 4-1 in the fifth on an RBI-double by Tanner Schobel and a sacrifice fly from Eduardo Malinowski. After an RBI-double by Cross in the sixth, Malinowski and Jack Hurley hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to open up a 7-1 lead.
Fordham would score twice in the ninth inning for the 7-3 final, as
Michael Taylor hit two-run home run to left center, the first of his career.
Jack Popolizio (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs over the first two innings, while
Ben Kovel tossed four innings of relief, giving up three runs.
Joseph Quintal and
Robbie Stewart finished out the game with one relief inning each. At the plate,
Will Findlay and
Jake Guercio each had to hits in the game for the Rams.
HOULIHAN PARK TO HOST 2022 ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP: For the fifth time, Fordham University's Houlihan Park will play host to the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2022. The Championship will take place May 24-28. Previously, Houlihan Park hosted the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2006, 2012, 2016, and 2019. The Rams hope to repeat the most recent result in 2019, when Fordham captured the league crown for the first time since 1998.
FORDHAM PICKED SIXTH IN A-10 PRESEASON COACHES POLL (2/15): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its preseason baseball coaches' poll for the 2022 season with the Fordham Rams picked sixth in the 12-team poll. VCU earned the top spot with 11 first place votes, followed by Dayton, who was the only other team to receive a first-place vote. Rhode Island was listed third, followed by Saint Louis, Davidson, Fordham, and George Washington to round out the top seven. The remaining teams in the poll were Richmond, Saint Joseph's, George Mason, Massachusetts, and St. Bonaventure.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams will get back on the road this weekend for a three-game series at Florida Atlantic, March 4-6.
