Baseball Meets Monmouth For Three-Game Series This Weekend

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 24, 2022) – The Fordham baseball team will look to build off their win on Tuesday, as the Rams match up with the Monmouth Hawks this weekend for a three-game series.  It will be a split location series, as Friday and Saturday will be played at Fordham's Houlihan Park, while Sunday is set for MU Baseball Field in West Long Branch, N.J.
 
Fordham (3-15) was able to break a nine-game slide on Tuesday with 11-6 win over the Siena Saints at Houlihan Park, led by Diego Prieto's first career four-hit game.  Monmouth (8-10) enters the weekend having lost five of its last six contests, which included two of three at Delaware last weekend.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday: Fordham – RHP Brooks Ey (0-4) vs. Monmouth - LHP Trey Dombroski (3-0) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday: Fordham – RHP Gabe Karslo (0-3) vs. Monmouth - RHP Dan Klepchick (1-1) // Live Audio | Live Stats | | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday: Fordham – TBA vs. Monmouth - LHP Rob Hensey (0-4)  // Live Video (YouTube) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Rams and Hawks have only met five times since the first meeting in 1988 with Fordham having the 3-2 lead in the series.  The two teams have not met since 1999, an 11-10 win for Fordham, which saw Dan Colonna connect on a walk-off double to score Ian Denson in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Colin Young had a four-hit game for the Rams that day, while Anthony Vega (3 runs), Denson (2 runs, RBI), and Colonna (3 RBI) each had three-hit days.
 
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Monmouth was picked as the preseason favorite in the MAAC, and are led by starting pitcher's Trey Dombroski and Dan Klepchick, who both have sub-3.00 ERAs through five starts this season.  Dombroski is 3-0 with a 2.40 ERA and an opponent batting average of .160, while Klepchick has a 2.88 ERA in 25.0 innings of work.  The Hawks' third starter Rob Hensey is the team leader in strikeouts with 38 over 26.0 innings.  Offensively, Jake Catalano is the top hitter at .333 on the season with seven doubles and 13 RBI, while James Armstead leads the squad with 17 runs scored and five home runs.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Behind Diego Prieto's first career four-hit game, and four combined scoreless innings from the relief trio of Trey Maeker, Anthony Scarlata, and Ben Kovel, the Fordham baseball team snapped its nine-game losing streak with an 11-6 win over the Siena Saints at Houlihan Park on Tuesday.
 
Fordham (3-15) opened the scoring in the first inning, as the Rams loaded the bases with one out and got a sacrifice fly by Will Findlay for a 1-0 lead.  Siena (2-15) then got their offense going, scoring six straight runs for a 6-1 lead by the fifth inning.  The Saints scored twice in the second, once in the third, and three in the fifth.
 
The Rams rallied back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring eight times, as they took advantage of the Siena bullpen, which walked five batters in the inning and had multiple wild pitches.  Cian Sahler and Ryan Thiesse each picked up an RBI on a bases loaded walk in the inning, while Diego Prieto had an RBI-single to highlight the scoring in the frame.
 
Fordham added two insurance runs in the sixth, as Sahler lined a one-out triple down the left field line, followed by an RBI-single to right by Prieto.  The Rams picked up the other run on a bases loaded fielder's choice by Thiesse for an 11-6 lead.

 
The Rams' bullpen trio of Trey Maeker, Anthony Scarlata, and Ben Kovel wrapped things up, posting four scoreless innings of relief.  Maeker struck out four batters over his two innings of work with Scarlata having two in his one inning of relief.  Kovel closed out a scoreless ninth with one strikeout.  Connor Haywood made the start for Fordham, allowing two earned runs over four innings of work with two strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Prieto had the big day, going 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and two RBI.  Zach Selinger and Jake Guercio each had a pair of hits, while Thiesse had a pair of RBI.
 
MILESTONE WIN: With the win over Siena, head coach Kevin Leighton recorded his 256^th win at Fordham, moving into third place on Fordham's all-time coaching wins list, passing Jack Lynch, who coached at Fordham from 1886-1891.
 
HEATING UP: Over the last 11 games, Zach Selinger is batting .368 (14-38) for the Rams with six doubles and five RBI… Jake Guercio is hitting .375 (9-24) over his last 10 games with five runs scored… Andy Semo is at .296 (8-27) with a home run and five RBI in his last nine games… Chris Genaro hit a pair of home runs on Saturday against Marist, becoming the first Ram with a multi-home run game since Nick Labella did so at Massachusetts on May 13, 2018… Diego Prieto's four-hit game against Siena on March 22^nd was the first by a Ram freshman since 2018 when Colton Snelling did it against Saint Peter's.

WHO'S NEXT: Following this series, the Rams will next be in action on Tuesday, March 29^th, when the Rams take on Manhattan for the second time this season at Clover Stadium in Pomona, N.Y.  Game time is set for 3:00 PM.