Bronx, N.Y. – (April 20, 2023) – The Fordham baseball team continues its eight-game road trip this weekend, as the Rams meet the Richmond Spiders for a three-game Atlantic 10 series. It is Fordham's first trip to Pitt Field since 2012, as the 2015 series was moved to Newport News, Virginia, due to renovations at Pitt Field.
Fordham (15-22, 3-6 A10) enters the weekend coming off a win at Sacred Heart on Tuesday, while Richmond (16-21, 5-4 A10) lost to Towson on Tuesday by a 20-10 score.
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – 2:00 PM - Fordham – RHP
Declan Lavelle (0-3, 7.92 ERA) vs. Richmond – RHP Brock Weirather (3-2, 5.37 ERA) //
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Saturday –1:00 PM - Fordham – RHP
Gabe Karslo (2-4, 6.99 ERA) vs. Richmond - TBA //
Live Video (ESPN3) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Sunday – 12:00 PM - Fordham – LHP
Austin Sachen (0-1, 8.75 ERA) vs. Richmond – LHP Jeremy Neff (1-0, 2.91 ERA) //
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Richmond is 16-21 on the season with a 5-4 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Spiders have hit very well as a team this season, batting .288 and averaging 6.4 runs per contest. Johnny Hipsman has been Richmond's top hitter, posting a .359 average with 29 runs scored, 14 doubles, five home runs, and 29 RBI. Jared Sprague-Lott, Jordan Jaffe, and Alden Mathes have also been a big part of the offense, combining for 21 home runs and 84 RBI. On the hill, Brock Weirather has been a weekend starter all season long, going 3-2 in nine starts with a 5.37 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched. The most relied upon bullpen arm has been Esteban Rodriguez, who has thrown 39 innings over 10 appearances with 45 strikeouts and a 5.08 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY: It's been a minute since Fordham and Richmond last clashed in a weekend series, dating back to 2018. Overall, the Spiders have a 21-17 lead in the all-time series with the first game coming in April 1923. It would be almost 80 years until the next meeting in 2002, when Richmond joined the Atlantic 10 Conference. Though the last series was in 2018, the two teams did match-up in the opening round of the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship, where Fordham rallied from a 6-1 deficit to defeat the Spiders, 7-6, in 10 innings on Jake MacKenzie's walk-off single.
LAST TIME OUT (4/18): Even though the Fordham baseball team began an eight-game road trip on Tuesday, it felt like a home game for some of the Rams and they played to the crowd. Fordham's Connecticut-based trio of
Daniel Bucciero,
Chris Genaro, and
Connor Haywood all played big parts in the Rams' 9-7 win over Sacred Heart at Veteran's Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Sacred Heart opened the scoring in the first inning, when Sam Mongelli hit a two-run home run for a 2-0 lead, his ninth home run of the season.
Fordham answered with three runs in the third and one in the fourth for a 4-2 advantage. In the third,
Chris Genaro opened the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a single by
Ryan Thiesse.
Cian Sahler followed with an RBI-double to left center to score Genaro.
Tommy McAndrews then doubled down the left field line, plating both Thiesse and Sahler. The next inning saw another run-scoring hit by Sahler, this time an RBI-single to score
Michael Brueser, who reached on a hit by pitch.
The Pioneers then tied the game at four on a two-run double by Joe Cilea, and went on top, 7-4, in the bottom of the sixth inning, as they took advantage of a Fordham error to plate three runs.
The Rams came right back with a huge seventh inning, as Fordham loaded the bases on a single by Thiesse and walks to Sahler and McAndrews.
Daniel Bucciero then launched a grand slam home run to left for an 8-7 lead, the first home run of his career. This was also the fourth grand slam home run hit by Fordham this season. Fordham tacked on an insurance run in the ninth on a bases loaded walk to Genaro for the 9-7 final.
Once the Rams got the lead in the seventh, Fordham's bullpen duo of
Connor Haywood and
Ben Kovel did the rest. Haywood struck out five of the six batters he faced over two innings of work, while Kovel recorded his fifth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Peter Hoffman (1-0) made his first career appearance on Tuesday, as he earned the win, allowing one earned run with one strikeout in his lone inning of relief.
At the plate, Bucciero was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and the grand slam home run, while Thiesse was 3-for-6 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Sahler extended his hit streak to six games, going 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, two walks, and two RBI with Genaro going 1-for-2 with two walks, a run scored, and an RBI.
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 27 home runs on the year, which is ahead of 2022, where the Rams had 22 through 37 games.
Zach Selinger leads the Rams with a career-high seven, while
Peter DeMaria has five and
Will Findlay and
Tommy McAndrews each have four. Fordham also has four grand slam home runs, following
Daniel Bucciero's on Tuesday (Selinger – 2,
Sebastian Mexico – 1).
TURNAROUND: After starting the season at 0-11, Fordham is 15-11 since and the numbers pan out. During the first 11 games, the Rams hit .240, averaging 3.8 runs per game to go with a .311 on-base percentage and .332 slugging percentage. Over the last 26, Fordham has slash lines of .261/.363/.405 and averaged 6.5 runs per game. More significantly has been the effectiveness on the mound, comparing an 11.72 ERA to 5.95, while opponents went from a .348 average in the first 11 games to .278 in the last 26.
GOIN' STREAKIN': Sophomore
Cian Sahler enters the weekend on a six-game hitting streak, batting .556 (10-18) with six runs scored, seven RBI, and a .652 on-base percentage… Junior Ryn Thiesse is on a five-game hitting streak, hitting .500 (11-22) with 10 runs scored, a home run, five RBI, and four stolen bases… Freshman
Daniel Bucciero has 10 RBI, four extra-base hits, and six runs scored in the last six games… Freshman
Tommy McAndrews is hitting .327 over his last 15 games with seven doubles, three home runs, and 14 RBI… Junior
Nolan Hughes is 1-0 with a 2.66 ERA in his last seven appearances with 31 strikeouts in 20.1 innings… Senior
Ben Kovel is 2-0 with five saves in his last 10 appearances with a 4.05 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13.1 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 is at Marist on Tuesday, April 25
th for a 3:00 PM game.
