Bronx, N.Y. – (April 16, 2022) – With an all-around stellar performance that saw clutch-hitting and solid pitching, the Fordham Rams earned their first Atlantic 10 series win on Saturday, defeating the Dayton Flyers, 8-2, at Houlihan Park.
Fordham (8-24, 3-6 A10) opened up the scoring in the first inning, taking advantage of a Dayton error.
David Kale led off a single through the left side and moved to third on an errant pickoff attempt at first. He then scored on a ground out by
Richard Grund.
Dayton (14-17, 3-6 A10) quickly tied the game at one in the second, when Henry Strmecki hit a solo home run to center, his fourth of the season.
The Rams answered that home run with one of their own, as
Jason Coules deposited a solo home run over the right field wall for his first of the season and regain the lead. Fordham scored two more times in the inning to open up a 4-1 advantage. After a single by
Chris Genaro,
Ryan Thiesse connected on a hit-and-run double to score Genaro from first. Thiesse then scored on an RBI-single by Kale.
David Kale
Fordham tacked on another run in the fifth on an RBI-single by
Cian Sahler before Strmecki hit his second solo home run of the game to make it a 5-2 game in the sixth.
The Rams were able to extend the lead and put the game out of reach, netting two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth for an 8-2 edge. The seventh inning saw an RBI-double by Sahler and a sacrifice fly from
Will Findlay, while the eighth inning had a solo home run by
Chris Genaro, his team-leading third of the year.
The offense was plenty for the Fordham pitching tag team of
Brooks Ey and
Joseph Quintal. Ey earned the win to improve to 2-5 on the season, allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts over six innings of work. Quintal recorded his first save of the year with a season-best performance, allowing just one hit over three innings of relief with a season-high five strikeouts.
At the plate, Kale was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a stolen base, and an RBI, while Genaro was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Sahler went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI off the bench with Findlay going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Tuesday, April 19, as they head to West Point for a 3:00 PM start.
