Bronx, N.Y. – (February 16, 2023) – The Fordham baseball team will open its 163rd year of play this weekend, as the Rams meet up with the Dallas Baptist Patriots.
This is the fourth time in the last six seasons that the Rams will start the year in the state of Texas, having previously met up with Houston Baptist (2017) and Texas A&M (2019, 2022).
Fordham looks to put 2022 season in the rearview mirror with a new squad that features 17 new players on the team to mix in with a relatively young group of returnees.
Among the returning veterans will be graduate student
Gabe Karslo and senior
Ben Kovel on the mound, while seniors
Zach Selinger and
Will Findlay. Karslo has been a mainstay in the Rams' weekend rotation the last two seasons, making 18 starts in 22 appearances, recording seven wins and 75 strikeouts in 97 innings. Kovel has been a steady hand out of the Rams' bullpen over the course of his career, but should have added responsibility this season. He has a career 3.68 ERA in 38 appearances with 55 strikeouts in 63.2 innings.
In the lineup, Selinger set career-highs in games played (48), runs scored (28), and doubles (8) last season, while hitting .270 with a pair of home runs and 18 RBI, while Findlay set personal-bests in runs scored (15), doubles (6), home runs (3), and RBI (21).
The Rams hope to see continued improvement from sophomore returnees
Cian Sahler and
Sebastian Mexico. In 44 games, Sahler batted .290 with 20 runs scored, 11 doubles, and 20 RBI, while Mexico played in 50 games, hitting .261 with 23 runs scored, nine doubles, and 19 RBI.
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday: Fordham – RHP
Gabe Karslo vs. RHP Braxton Bragg //
Live Video/Audio |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Saturday: Fordham - RHP
Ben Kovel vs. RHP Ryan Johnson //
Live Video/Audio |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Sunday: Fordham – LHP
Nolan Hughes vs. LHP Bryson Hammer //
Live Video/Audio |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
SERIES HISTORY: This weekend's series will be the first-ever meetings between Fordham and Dallas Baptist.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Dallas Baptist is coming off their eighth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance in 2022 and are making the transition from the Missouri Valley Conference to Conference-USA in 2023. The Patriots were picked to finish second in C-USA, and bring back four All-MVC players in Jace Grady, Nathan Humphreys, Miguel Santos, and 2022 Freshman All-America and MVC Freshman of the Year, Luke Heefner. Heefner hit .294 last season with seven home runs, 11 doubles, and 29 RBI. On the hill, Ryan Johnson made nine starts in 18 appearances, posting a 4.30 ERA in 58.2 innings, while in the bullpen Zane Russell is the big arm with a 1.63 ERA in 23 appearances in 2022.
FORDHAM PICKED NINTH IN A-10 PRESEASON COACHES POLL (2/7): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its preseason baseball coaches' poll for the 2023 season with the Fordham Rams picked ninth in the 12-team poll.
Davidson, the defending regular season champion, earned the top spot with five first place votes, followed by VCU, the two-time defending tournament champion, Richmond, and Saint Louis. Dayton was picked fifth with the remainder of the order being Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's George Mason, Fordham, George Washington, Massachusetts, and St. Bonaventure.
HELLO, MY NAME IS…: One of the big storylines for Fordham this season is the influx of new talent, as the Rams welcome 17 new players in 2023, which includes seven transfers, five of which are graduate student transfers. Among the newcomers, the Rams are looking forward to seeing
Peter DeMaria in the line-up a graduate transfer from Tufts University, a three-time NESCAC All-Conference selection and a 2022 ABCA/Rawling First Team All-Region selection.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams will next be in action on February 24-26, when the team heads to Old Dominion for a three-game series in Norfolk, Virginia.
