Stillwater, Okla. – Fordham softball's 2022 campaign came to an end on Saturday after a 5-3 loss to North Texas in the Regional's first elimination game. The Rams finish their season with a 30-22 overall record.
"What an incredible ride its been with this team this season." Head coach
Melissa Inouye said, "Loved our energy and fight today. They've been the key characteristics for the success of this group all year. Proud of the amazing and successful careers on and off the field of Rachel, Bebe, Kelly, Gigi and Mak - they will all be missed".
Though she would settle down and limit them to just one run over the ensuing five innings, the Mean Green got to
Devon Miller in the opening inning for four runs via a two-out grand slam off the bat of Kalei Christensen. Miller had walked two of the first four batters and hit another prior to striking out Saleen Donohoe before the big hit. Miller settled down, working around trouble in the next few innings, before allowing a fifth and final run on Donohue's solo home run in the fifth. She finished her 25
th start of the year with four strikeouts but suffered her 11
th loss.
On offense,
Brianna Pinto began the game with a bunt single, but North Texas starter Ashley Peters retired the next 14 Rams until
Amanda Carey's two-out double in the fifth. Fordham struck in the sixth, though, to get within two.
Sarah Taffet reached on an error by the first basemen on her hard hit ball and Pinto singled to left, notching the team's lone multi-hit game on the weekend. Hubertus stepped up with one out and blasted a 1-0 offering the opposite way, her 18
th dinger of the season and 40
th of her career, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in program history. Peters would get the final two outs of the inning and Skylar Savage came in for the save with a clean seventh.
Pinto and Carey each reached base safely twice over the two games with Taffet also reaching base twice, once via error. Hubertus and Carter each had one hit.
Hubertus finishes her stellar Fordham career fourth with 40 home runs, sixth with a .599 slugging percentage, and ninth with 124 RBIs. Pinto finishes her career as the program's all-time steals leader, with 85, while her five-year .315 batting average sits 10
th all-time.
Makenzie McGrath, meanwhile, finishes just shy of a couple career top-10s for wins and innings, recording a 22-12 record with a 3.32 ERA over 231.2 frames.
