Bronx, N.Y. – (March 18, 2023) – It was a wild afternoon for the Fordham baseball team with highs and lows in its doubleheader against the Fairfield Stags at Houlihan Park on Saturday.
First came the highs in game one, as Fordham's
Peter DeMaria hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Rams past the Stags, 7-6. Then came the lows, as Fairfield's Colin McVeigh threw seven shutout innings to lead the Stags to a 5-0 win.
In game one, Fairfield opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second before Fordham answered with three runs in the bottom of the second. The Rams got an RBI-infield single by
Tommy McAndrews and a two-run double by
Jack Vallario for their scoring.
The Stags closed within one at 3-2 in the sixth, when Mike Handal hit a solo home run to right center, his second of the year.
Fordham then increased its lead to 6-2 with three runs in the seventh. With runners at the corners and two outs,
Peter DeMaria connected on a ground-rule double to left, scoring
Ryan Thiesse from third and moving
Daniel Bucciero to third. After
Will Findlay was hit by a pitch to load the bases,
Zach Selinger ripped a two-run single to right center to score Bucciero and DeMaria.
Fairfield wouldn't go away though, scoring four times in the top of the eighth to knot the game at six.
The Rams though would get the happy ending in the bottom of the ninth, as DeMaria blasted a solo home run to left, his second of the season, for the walk-off win.
DeMaria finished the game 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and three RBI, while Selinger and Vallario each had two hits and two RBI.
Aric Berg (2-0) earned the win in relief, recording three strikeouts over 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Starter
Gabe Karslo went the first six innings, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts.
In game two, things did not start well for Fordham, as during warm-up pitches, starter
Connor Haywood suffered an injury and was unable to go, forcing Berg to resume pitching after he finished game one.
Fairfield took advantage, scoring on an RBI-double by Mike Becchetti for a 1-0 lead.
The Stags then added three runs in the fifth and once in the sixth for a 5-0 lead.
Fordham was unable to get much going against Fairfield starter Colin McVeigh, as he threw seven shutout innings, scattering six hits with four strikeouts. Peter Ostensen finished the game for the Stags with two innings of one-hit relief with two strikeouts.
For the Rams,
Ryan Rockhill was the lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a double.
The Fordham baseball team will next be in action on Tuesday, March 21
st, when the Rams host Siena for a 3:00 PM game at Houlihan Park.
Gallery: (3-18-2023) Baseball vs. Fairfield
