Bronx, N.Y. – (April 13, 2023) – The Fordham baseball team starts a pivotal three-game Atlantic 10 series this weekend, when the Rams welcome the George Washington Colonial to Houlihan Park for the first time since 2018.
Fordham (13-20, 2-4) look to get back on track after winning only two of its first six conference games against Davidson and Rhode Island. George Washington (11-23, 2-4) is in a similar situation, having earned single wins over Dayton and Richmond, but dropping both series.
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – 3:00 PM - Fordham – RHP
Declan Lavelle (0-3, 8.06 ERA) vs. George Washington – RHP Logan Koester (3-2, 4.09 ERA) //
Live Video (MSG/ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Saturday –1:00 PM - Fordham – RHP
Gabe Karslo (2-3, 6.47 ERA) vs. George Washington – LHP Teddy Brennan (1-1, 5.40 ERA) //
Live Video (MSG/ESPN3) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Sunday – 12:00 PM - Fordham – LHP
Austin Sachen (0-0, 7.96 ERA) vs. George Washington – RHP Chris Kahler (1-3, 3.88 ERA) //
Live Video (MSG/ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: George Washington is 11-23 on the season, following a loss to Delaware on Wednesday, with a 2-4 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Colonials are hitting .277 as a team with a 7.67 team ERA. Eddie Micheletti, Jr. has been the team's leading hitter at .348 with 12 doubles and 23 RBI, while Michael Kohn has been another power threat, batting .322 with 12 doubles, six home runs, and 28 RBI. On the hill, all three weekend starters have been solid with ERAs at 5.40 or lower. Chris Kahler has a team-best 3.88 ERA and 42 strikeouts with Logan Koester posting a team-high three wins and 50.2 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and George Washington first played each other back in 1952, before their regular meetings as part of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Colonials lead the all-time series, 22-18, with the last meeting coming at the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championship, where George Washington posted a 5-0 shutout of the Rams.
LAST TIME OUT: Sparked by a nine-run fourth inning, the Columbia Lions surged past the Fordham Rams, 16-9, at Houlihan Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Columbia opened the scoring with a two-run home run by Andy Blake in the first inning, his seventh of the season.
The Rams answered with nine runs over their first three at-bats, beginning with a leadoff home run to right by
Ryan Thiesse, his third of the season. It is the second time this year that he has led off a game with a home run. Fordham then scored four times in the second for a 5-2 lead, as they loaded the bases on two walk and a hit by pitch with one out. After a fielder's choice,
Daniel Bucciero knocked in two runs with a single to left.
Tommy McAndrews then lined a two-run triple to right to close out the scoring in the inning.
Fordham added four more runs in the third inning to go up 9-2, scoring a run on a bases loaded walk to Thiesse and a bases clearing double to left center by Bucciero.
Columbia came all the way back to take an 11-9 lead in the fourth inning, sending 12 batters to the plate. The biggest damage of the inning was a grand slam home run to right by Seth Dardar, his seventh of the season, which put Columbia ahead. The Lions then added three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth for the 16-9 final score. Fordham was stymied by the Lions' bullpen after the third inning, managing just two hits over the final six innings.
Aric Berg (3-2) took the loss allowing five earned runs on four hits. At the plate, Bucciero was 2-for-4 with a double and a season-high five RBI, while McAndrews was 3-for-5 with a triple and two RBI. Thiesse finished 1-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI.
Cian Sahler was also 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
POWER SURGE: One of the big differences from a year ago has been Fordham's ability to hit the long ball in 2023. Fordham has 24 home runs on the year, which is ahead of 2022, where the Rams had 20 through 33 games.
Zach Selinger leads the Rams with a career-high six, while
Peter DeMaria has five and
Will Findlay and
Tommy McAndrews each have four.
GOIN' STREAKIN': Graduate student
Peter DeMaria saw his reached base streak end last game at 14... he had posted a .403 on-base percentage to go with a .333 batting average, four home runs, and 13 RBI in that stretch... Senior
Zach Selinger is hitting .325 over his last 12 games with four home runs and 14 RBI... Freshman
Tommy McAndrews has a .385 batting average in his last 11 games with four doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI... Junior
Nolan Hughes is 1-0 with a 0.57 ERA in his last five appearances with 24 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.
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: Following this weekend series, Fordham hits the road for eight straight road games, starting on April 18th at Sacred Heart.
