Softball at UMass for Three-Game Series this Weekend

Live Stats
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Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham softball (12-14, 4-4) takes to the road for a three-game series at Massachusetts (10-17, 3-2) this weekend, with both Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's series finale at Sortino Field beginning at noon. Link to Live Stats is above.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham fell, 5-4, in eight innings on Wednesday to Iona. The Gaels struck for two runs in the first and third innings, though the Rams answered in each bottom frame with one run, first on a Bailey Enoch foulout and next on a Rachel Hubertus solo home run. In the fifth, Julia Martine's two-run shot tied the game up, 4-4. In relief, Enoch struck out a career-high eight batters while keeping Iona off the board from the fourth inning on, but suffered the tough-luck loss due to an error behind her in the eighth. Read about the game here.
 
Hubertus, Miller Garner A-10 Weekly Awards
As mentioned, Hubertus earned her second career weekly accolade from the conference, while Miller picked up her fourth career Pitcher nod. Read about their weekends here.
 
Series History vs. UMass
The Minutewomen lead the all-time series, 54-32, since the Rams joined the A-10 in 1996. Fordham won just two games (both in 2005) until the rivalry started to turn around 2010. It was much more even from that point on, but over the past four years, it's been almost all Rams, including nine consecutive victories dating back to the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship. Due to COVID, the league last year was put into two divisions, which led to those remaining eight contests, which the Rams won by a combined score of 77-18.  
 
Milestone Watch
With her first-inning steal on Sunday, Brianna Pinto became Fordham softball's all-time stolen base leader, her 74^th. She is now 75-for-76 on the basepaths in her five seasons in the Bronx, having been thrown out just ONCE, way back in April of her freshman year. She is a perfect 15-of-15 this season after stealing 28 last year, ranked third in a single campaign. The Franklin Square, N.Y. native also has a chance to finish in the top-10 for career batting average after setting the single-season record last Spring with a .431 average across 46 contests, currently at .273 this year.
 
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 with a league-leading nine home runs already this year is now solo eighth all-time with 31 career dingers. She is also 16 RBIs shy of that top-10, as well, and is currently fifth with a .608 slugging percentage.
 
Junior Devon Miller is now eighth all-time with eight career shutouts after Saturday's five-inning blanking of Rhode Island, and just entered the top-10 for career strikeouts, now eighth with 269, and is one win away from joining that category, as well.
 
Makenzie McGrath Named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week
The senior earned her first weekly league accolade on February 15 after picking up both of the team's wins opening weekend, one in her fifth career complete game and one in relief. Read all about her stellar performances here.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 returns to the Bronx but not to Bahoshy as the Rams will play a doubleheader at Manhattan next Wednesday, April 6, beginning at 1 p.m.