Bronx, N.Y. – (March 31, 2022) – After a postponement earlier in the week, the Fordham baseball team gets back to work this weekend, when the Rams begin conference play against the Saint Louis Billikens at Houlihan Park. The three-game series begins Friday at
6:00 PM (UPDATED) with Saturday starting at
2:00 PM (UPDATED) and Sunday at noon.
Fordham (5-16) is coming off a series win over Monmouth this weekend and just missed completing a series sweep on Sunday, as the team's ninth-inning rally fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Hawks. Saint Louis (12-10) enters the weekend having lost two of its last three games Illinois State and Southeast Missouri State.
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday: Fordham – RHP
Gabe Karslo (1-3) vs. Saint Louis - RHP Logan Schmitt (3-1) //
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Saturday: Fordham – RHP
Brooks Ey (0-4) vs. Saint Louis – LHP Trevor Harris (3-3) //
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Sunday: Fordham – RHP
Cory Wall (0-0) vs. Saint Louis – RHP Scott Youngbrandt (2-1) //
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Saint Louis enters the weekend with a .249 batting average, while averaging 5.7 runs per contest. The Billikens are led by Kyle Fitzgerald and his .333 batting average, 17 runs scored and 12 RBI. Cam Redding is also having a fine season, hitting .310 with two home runs and 13 RBI. On the hill, Saint Louis boasts a 6.31 team ERA and a .298 opponent batting average. Logan Schmitt is at the top of the rotation with a 3-1 record, a 4.71 ERA, and 27 strikeouts in 28.2 innings, while Trevor Harris is 3-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 28.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, Cameron Pferrer had a team-best three saves to go with a 2.31 ERA in nine appearances.
SERIES HISTORY: Since Saint Louis joined the Atlantic 10 in 2006, the Billikens hold a 15-11 series lead against the Rams, with the last meetings in 2019. Saint Louis grabbed two of those three games from the Rams at Houlihan Park. Fordham's last series win over the Billikens in 2015.
LAST TIME OUT: The Rams came up just short of a perfect week on the diamond, as despite a ninth-inning relay, the Rams fell to the Monmouth Hawks, 3-2, at MU Baseball Field in West Long Branch, N.J.
The game was scoreless through the first three innings before Monmouth (9-12) scratched a run across in the fourth, as the Hawks loaded the bases and got a sacrifice fly from Brady Mutz for a 1-0 lead. The Hawks increased their lead to 3-0 in the fifth, when Alex Barker hit a two-run home run to right, his fifth of the season.
Cian Sahler
Fordham was able to hold the score at 3-0 due to the relief pitching efforts of
Joseph Quintal and
Cameron Knox. Quintal pitched 2.1 innings of one-hit relief with four strikeouts, which included striking out the side in the seventh inning. Knox then pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
In the ninth inning, the Rams tried to rally back off, getting a single from
Andy Semo, while
Jack Harnisch drew a walk.
Zach Selinger was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a pair of strikeouts,
Cian Sahler drew another walk to force in a run, while a wild pitch made it a 3-2 game. Unfortunately for the Rams, Ryan Bearse struck out
Will Findlay to end the game with the tying run at third.
Robbie Stewart (0-1) took the loss, allowing one run on one hit over four innings with two strikeouts. At the plate, Sahler was 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Semo was 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Sebastian Mexico,
Jake Guercio,
Richard Grund, and
Chris Genaro also had hits for the Rams.
SAHLER NAMED A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK (3/28): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham freshman outfielder
Cian Shaler (Olney, Md.) earning Rookie of the Week honors for the first time in his career. Sahler hit .538 (7-for-13) over four games last week, putting his current hit streak at a season-high five games. He totaled five runs scored and six RBI on the week with a .600 on-base percentage and .769 slugging mark. After a triple and two runs scored against Siena on Tuesday, Sahler came off the bench on Friday to record a pair of hits, including the two-run walk-off single in the ninth to give Fordham a 10-9 win over Monmouth. He followed with his first career three-hit game on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI, while on Sunday he was 1-for-3 with an RBI to close out the series with Monmouth.
HEATING UP: Over the last 14 games,
Zach Selinger is batting .383 (18-47) for the Rams with six doubles, a home run, and 10 RBI…
Cian Sahler is batting .361 (13-36) over his last 11 games, scoring nine runs and driving in eight and is currently on a five-game hitting streak…
Jake Guercio is hitting .314 (11-35) in his last 13 games with seven runs scored…
Andy Semo is also on a five-game hitting streak, batting .308 (12-39) over his last 12 contests with a home run and five RBI.
MILESTONE WIN: With the win over Siena, head coach
Kevin Leighton recorded his 256th 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.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams will next be in action on Tuesday, April 5
th, when the Rams travel to Siena for a 3:00 PM game.
