Softball Kicks 2023 Season Off At NFCA Leadoff Classic This Weekend

Schedule | Season Preview | Quick Facts
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The wait is finally over and the 2023 softball season is upon us. The reigning Atlantic 10 champions kick their campaign off on Friday against #19/21 Auburn and NR/RV Missouri at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla., playing back-to-back beginning at 4 p.m.
 
All of this weekend's games will be streamed via GameChanger, with some of the  contests also featuring live stats. All relevant links can be found via the schedule page above.
 
2022 Review
Last May, Fordham secured its ninth Atlantic 10 championship, defeating Saint Joseph's once and regular season champion, George Washington, twice, though the Colonials forced a winner-take-all contest on the final day. Bailey Enoch was named the Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the All-Championship team by Devon Miller and Amanda Carey. The Rams returned to NCAA Regionals for a 10^th time and first since 2019, playing at the Clearwater Regional where they took on #7 Oklahoma State and North Texas.
 
Fordham finished with a 30-22 overall record, 15-7 in league play to earn the #2 seed at the Championship. The Rams graduated the program's all-time steals leader, Brianna Pinto, Rachel Hubertus, one of four players to reach 40 career home runs, as well as 10-game winner Makenzie McGrath, Kelly Bright, and Gigi Speer.
 
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 after Matt Klampert departed for Penn.
 
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 senior starting catcher who hit .258 with three dingers, and sophomore 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 will travel down to North Carolina for Elon's Phoenix Invitational where the Rams will play the hosts, Michigan State, James Madison, and twice against Saint Francis. They'll kick the weekend off against the Red Flash on the 17^th at 9:30 a.m.