Baseball Heads to Davidson to Start A-10 Play

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 30, 2023) – The Fordham baseball team starts league play this weekend, when the Rams travel to Davidson for a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Wilson Field in North Carolina.
 
Both teams enter this weekend series playing well, as each is on a five-game winning streak.  Fordham won its fifth straight game on Tuesday against Hartford while Davidson completed a three-game sweep of Tennessee Tech to reach five consecutive wins.

The series has also had updates made, as the teams will play Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 3:00 PM, and Sunday at 1:00 PM.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – 8:00 PM - Fordham – RHP Declan Lavelle (0-1, 5.79 ERA) vs. Davidson – RHP Will Schomberg (3-1, 2.37 ERA) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Saturday – 3:00 PM - Fordham – RHP Gabe Karslo (2-2, 5.81 ERA) vs. Davidson – LHP Ryan Feczko (1-3, 10.72 ERA) // Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Sunday – 1:00 PM - Fordham – LHP Austin Sachen (0-0, 10.80 ERA) vs. Davidson – TBA // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: The Wildcats are 13-10 on the year, batting .278 on the season as a team, while posting a 6.93 team ERA.  Davidson has used the long ball all season long, hitting 44 home runs in 23 games, led by Ryan Wilson with 11 and Jack Cotrone at nine.  Cotrone leads the Wildcats in batting at .368 with 21 runs scored and 26 RBI, while Wilson is hitting .342 with 30 runs scored and 25 RBI.  On the hill, Will Schomberg has been the Wildcats' ace, going 3-1 in six starts with a 2.37 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Davidson have met nine times since the Wildcats joined the Atlantic 10 with the Rams holding a 6-3 edge in the series.  In each of the three previous series, the Wildcats won game one of the series, followed by two Fordham victories to win the series.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The flair for the dramatic has become commonplace for the Fordham baseball team recently and Tuesday was just another chapter, as Sebastian Mexico's grand slam home run in the fifth inning proved to be the difference in a 5-3 win over the Hartford Hawks at Houlihan Park.
 
The game was scoreless through the opening three frames before Hartford took advantage of a pair of Fordham miscues in the fourth inning to grab a 3-0 lead.  With two in scoring position after a walk and an error, Noah Rivera plated the opening run with a sacrifice fly to center, followed by an RBI-single by Tyler Holmes.  The final run of the inning came on a wild pitch-error combination.
 
Fordham responded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as the Rams loaded the bases on three straight singles by Daniel Bucciero, Peter DeMaria, and Will Findlay.  After a pop out, Ryan Rockhill drew a bases loaded walk to force in the Rams' first run.  Sebastian Mexico then cleared the bases with a grand slam home run to right, his first home run of the season and third grand slam by the Rams in the last week.
 
From there, it was all about the Fordham bullpen, as Nolan Hughes, William Simeone, and Ben Kovel kept the Hawks off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.  Hughes (1-2) earned his first win, allowing two hits over 2.2 innings of relief with four strikeouts, while Simeone tossed 1.1 hitless innings with two strikeouts.  Kovel then came on for the final three outs to earn his third save in the last four games, posting a pair of strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Mexico was 1-for-2 with the grand slam home run, while Findlay was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
 

SELINGER NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (3/27): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly awards on Monday afternoon with Fordham senior infielder Zach Selinger earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
 
Selinger had a monster week for the Rams, helping the team to a 4-0 week.  He hit .455 with a .625 on-base percentage and 1.273 slugging percentage to go with six runs scored, three home runs, two of which were grand slams, and 13 RBI.
 
He opened the week going 2-for-4 with a grand slam home run and a career-high six RBI against Siena on Tuesday.  He followed with a three-run home run and two runs scored in the Rams' series opening win at Seton Hall, and then hit the game-winning grand slam home run in game two, becoming the first Ram since Chris Kaible in 2007 to hit a home run in three straight games.  Selinger ended the week by scoring the eventual game-winning run Sunday, as the Rams completed a three-game sweep of Seton Hall.
 
GOIN' STREAKIN': Since starting the year 0-11, Fordham has rebounded to go 11-3 in their last 14 games… Senior Will Findlay has been on fire over that stretch, batting .429 with 14 runs scored, six doubles, and 11 RBI in his last 13 games… Freshman Tommy McAndrews is hitting .387 in his last 11 games, recording three doubles, two home runs, and 11 RBI… Senior Zach Selinger has also been swing a big stick over his last 13 games, batting .368 with eight runs scored, three home runs, and 17 RBI… Senior Ben Kovel has recorded a win and three saves in the Rams' last four games.

RAMSES CHALLENGE: As a part of a new fundraising challenge this season, fans can pledge support for the team in the Ramses Challenge for each win, home run hit, or pitcher's strikeout this season.    Be a part of the challenge by clicking here.
 
WHO'S NEXT: After this weekend, Fordham will play at Siena on April 4^th, while returning to Houlihan Park for a three-game Atlantic 10 home series, April 6-8, against Rhode Island.