Softball at Winthrop's Garnet & Gold Tournament this Weekend

Schedule | Season Preview | Quick Facts
 
Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham softball (2-7) enters its third weekend of the 2023 campaign, participating in Winthrop's Garnet & Gold Tournament. The Rams will play Harvard (0-0) and North Carolina Central (0-6) back-to-back on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. and then against LIU (2-8) and Winthrop (6-2) back-to-back on Sunday starting at 9:30 a.m.
 
There will only be live stats for all four games with links on the schedule page above.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams went 1-3 at last weekend's Phoenix Invitational, hosted by Elon, with a win over Saint Francis behind Holly Beeman's first career shutout. Fordham fell to the hosts, plus power 5 foe Michigan State, and perennial power James Madison. At the plate, Mary Grace O'Neill enjoyed a solid weekend, going 5-for-9 (.556) with a pair of RBIs and a steal, plus an assist in centerfield. Julia Martine averaged .308 with a steal and Julia Petrovich notched her first home run of the season. Beeman led the staff with a 0.60 ERA over 11.2 innings.
 
Beeman Named Pitcher of the Week Again
The freshman hurler continued her stellar start to the season by nabbing her second straight Pitcher of the Week honor from the Atlantic 10. She became the first Ram, and first freshman, to earn the season's first two accolades since Lauren Quense in 2017 and just the third all-time. Beeman outdid her opening weekend, when she pitched once but nearly threw a no-hitter, with a three-hit shutout over Saint Francis to give her team its second win of the year, allowing just three singles with no walks and three strikeouts, and appearing in relief twice with a combined two runs allowed, one earned, over 4.2 innings. She finished with a 0.60 ERA over a team-high 11.2 frames.
 
Some Early Standouts at the Dish
In addition to Beeman, Julia Martine has started her fifth campaign off with a bang, slashing .300/.323/.533 with a pair of dingers, nine hits, and four runs, all team-highs. Mary Grace O'Neill has utilized her playing time well, hitting .500 across 12 at-bats with a pair of steals. Mallory McClellan is behind the pair with a .286 average, as is Bella Ayala, hitting .250.
 
A-10 Preseason Coaches Poll
The Rams have been predicted to successfully defend their title and garnered six first-place votes in the league's annual poll of head coaches. Read more here.
 
2023 Schedule Reveal
The Rams will in 51 regular season contests, including four preseason tournaments and 16 home games, and will host the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship. Read more here.
 
New Faces
Head coach Melissa Inouye welcomed five freshman to the Bronx in the Fall: pitcher Holly Beeman, infielder Eva Koratsis, infielder Kate McGuire, outfielder Neleh Nogay, and catcher Nicki Sudall. Inouye also welcomed new assistant coach Nikki Cuccio to the program.
 
Some Notable Returning Faces
In addition to the captains Michaela Carter, Julia Martine, Devon Miller, and Sarah Taffet, the Rams welcome back junior Bailey Enoch, who was named First Team All-Conference at DP after slashing .309/.436/.532 with seven home runs and 74 total bases while pitching to a 7-3 record and 3.77 ERA across 22 appearances. All-Rookie selections Allie Clark, who hit .245 and made 34 starts, and Sydney Wells, 30 appearances and 27 starts with two round-trippers return for their sophomore seasons, as do Amanda Carey, the team's starting catcher who hit .258 with three dingers, and Emilee Watkins, who led the rotation in ERA over 10 appearances in the circle.
 
Milestone Watch
With Hubertus and Pinto graduating, the lone Ram currently in the program record book is senior pitcher Devon Miller, who finds herself seventh in strikeouts, joint-sixth in shutouts, joint ninth in wins, and close to the top-10 in nearly every other category. Fifth-years Julia Martine and Sarah Taffet have enjoyed four full seasons outside of the COVID-shortened campaign, and will likely push to enter several top-10s of their own.
 
Next
Fordham have a week off before flying cross-country (and then some!) to Coach Inouye's home state of Hawaii to compete in the Rainbow Wahine Classic, which begins against Niagara on March 9^th.