Softball Series at Dayton Postponed; Rams Host St. John's Saturday Instead

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Bronx, N.Y. – Due to expected inclement weather in Dayton this weekend, Fordham softball's (6-12) conference-opening three-game series with the Flyers has been postponed. However, the Rams have added a Saturday noon home contest, an impromptu home opener, against St. John's (8-13, 2-1 Big East).
 
Live stats will be available for tomorrow's contest via the link above. 
 
MSG Networks to Telecast 10 Fordham Softball Games
The partnership was just announced this week, with seven of the Rams' 10 televised broadcasts coming against Atlantic 10 foes. Read more here.

Last Time Out
The Rams went 3-2 at the Rainbow Wahine Classic in the native state of head coach Melissa Inouye, defeating Niagara twice and Hawaii once. In the opener against the Purple Eagles, Devon Miller earned her first win of the year and freshman Eva Koratsis bashed a go-ahead grand slam. On Friday, the Rams suffered defeats to Iowa State and Hawaii, with Sydney Wells' two-out, two-run double against the latter serving as the only offense of the day. There were two, two-hit shutouts on Saturday by Fordham, the first from Holly Beeman over Niagara, with Bella Ayala off the bench accounting from both runs in a 2-0 victory, and the second by Emilee Watkins and Bailey Enoch. The latter came over five innings, with Enoch racking up five strikeouts and the win, while the offense mashed three dingers, off the bats of Enoch, Wells, and Koratsis.
 
Beeman Named Pitcher of the Week Again
The freshman hurler enjoyed a stellar start to her season by earning two straight Pitcher of the Week honors 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
Mary Grace O'Neill's .412 average leads the offense, the sophomore going 7-for-17 over her opening 15 games, with two stolen bases. Eva Koratsis has displayed her power in the past two weeks, leading the team with a .571 slugging percentage and sharing the lead with three home runs with Bailey Enoch. Enoch leads the squad with nine walks, a .351 on-base percentage, and nine runs. Michaela Carter' .300 OBP is next best, while her five stolen bases (on five attempts) are tops on the team. In the circle, it's two-time A-10 Pitcher of the Week Beeman with a 1.13 ERA over her first 43.1 college innings to lead the staff. She's now up to five complete games and two shutouts across eight appearances with a 3-3 record.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Milestone Watch
With Rachel Hubertus and Brianna Pinto graduating, the lone Ram currently in the program record book is senior pitcher Devon Miller, who finds herself fifth in strikeouts, joint-sixth in shutouts, 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 travels to Iona on Wednesday at 3 p.m. for a single contest before returning home to officially begin A-10 play with a three-game series against St. Bonaventure. Both days contests begin at noon.