Honolulu, Hawaii – Fordham softball said 'Aloha' to the Rainbow Wahine Classic in style, with a pair of wins on Saturday, 2-0 over Niagara and an 8-0, five-inning victory over the hosts, finishing the weekend with a 3-2 record. With the results, the Rams improve to 6-12 overall as they head into conference play.
The first game of the day was a pitcher's duel between
Holly Beeman and the Purple Eagles' Maddi Hickingbottom. Prior to the fifth inning, the two combined for just five hits allowed, but
Bella Ayala, off the bench, struck the first pitch she saw to start the sixth and slashed it to left for what would be the go-ahead run. The junior also tacked on an extra run in the next inning on a sacrifice foulout. Beeman, meanwhile, was terrific once again, tossing a two-hit shutout with no walks and a strikeout for her third win of the season.
Michaela Carter,
Neleh Nogay, and
Kate McGuire all reached safely twice, Carter doing so on a pair of singles, also stealing a base, Nogay two singles, and McGuire a single and walk.
The Rams avenged yesterday's loss to the Rainbow Wahine and dominated the weekend finale from the start as the visitors plated three runs in the first and never looked back.
Bailey Enoch and
Sydney Wells went back-to-back with solo home runs before
Julia Martine scored on an error after singling and stealing second.
Sarah Taffet led off the second with a double and scored on Nogay's two-out single four a fourth run and
Eva Koratsis delivered a bomb in the third to make it a six-run game. Two more runs scored in the fourth, an Enoch single and error in the field that scored Nogay, and a Wells RBI groundout.
In the circle,
Emilee Watkins got the start but was unlucky not to get the win after leaving the contest due to injury with 2.2 innings pitched. The sophomore limited Niagara to just a single and a walk. Enoch came on in relief and struck out five while allowing just a single over her 2.1 frames, earning her second win.
Fordham kicks off league action next weekend with a three-game series at Dayton, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 18
th, noon.
