Bronx, N.Y. – (April 27, 2023) – The Fordham baseball team finishes its eight-game road trip this weekend, as the Rams travel to Philadelphia for a three-game Atlantic 10 series against the Saint Joseph's Hawks. The weather has already caused changes to the original schedule, as the teams will play a single game Friday at 10:00 AM and a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.
Each team has hit the mid-way point of conference play with Saint Joseph's sitting in a tie for third place at 7-5 in the league with Fordham three games back at 4-8 in Atlantic 10 action.
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – 10:00 AM - Fordham – RHP
Declan Lavelle (0-4, 8.45 ERA) vs. Saint Joseph's – RHP Will McClausland (4-2, 4.22) //
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Saturday (G1) –12:00 PM - Fordham – LHP
Austin Sachen (0-2, 9.45 ERA) vs. Saint Joseph's – LHP Ryan DeSanto (1-1, 4.59 ERA) //
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
Sunday (G2) – 3:30 PM - Fordham – TBA vs. Saint Joseph's – RHP Domenic Picone (2-5, 6.18 ERA) //
Live Stats |
Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Saint Joseph's is 16-19-1 this season with a 7-5 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Hawks continue to be one of the top offensive teams in the Atlantic 10, batting .295 with 48 home runs on the year and averaging 7.4 runs per game. Ryan Weingartner (.339) and Brett Callahan (.329) each have nine home runs this year, while Nate Thomas (.319) has seven long balls to go with a team-high 36 RBI. On the mound, Will McCausland has made an immediate impact as a starter, going 4-2 in nine starts with a 4.22 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched, while out of the bullpen, Cole Stetzar has made a team-high 15 appearances, recording two wins and three saves in 22.2 innings of work.
SERIES HISTORY: Since 1996, the two Jesuit institutions are almost even over 70 all-time meetings with the Hawks ahead in the series at 35-34-1. Last season, Saint Joseph's took two of three games at Houlihan Park, with Fordham coming out on top in the finale.
LAST TIME OUT: Marist's Brian Hart had three hits, including a home run, and four RBI to lead the Red Foxes to an 11-2 win over the Fordham Rams on Tuesday at McCann Baseball Field in Poughkeepsie.
Marist scored twice in the first and third innings to build up a 4-0 lead, before Fordham got on the board on the fourth. The Rams had runners at first and second with two outs after a walk to
Peter DeMaria and a single by
Zach Selinger.
Michael Taylor hit a ground ball to third that Marist's Bayram Hot could not handle, allowing DeMaria to score. The Red Foxes added two more runs to the ledger in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run single by N. Armory for a 6-1 advantage.
The score remained that way until the eighth, when Fordham loaded the bases on a hit by pitch to
Tommy McAndrews, a walk to DeMaria, and a single by
Daniel Bucciero. McAndrews eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it, 6-2. Marist then put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the eighth for an 11-2 final.
For Fordham,
Dominic Cunha took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits with five walks over three innings of work. At the plate, the Rams managed just six hits in the game with
Cian Sahler and
Zach Selinger having two each.
DeMARIA NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (4/24): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its weekly baseball awards on Monday with Fordham graduate student
Peter DeMaria taking Player of the Week honors for the first time. Additionally, DeMaria was also among Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week as well.
DeMaria was a one-person wrecking crew this week, hitting safely in all four games for the Rams. He batted .500 (7-14) with a double, five home runs, eight RBI, and seven runs scored. He also had an on-base percentage of .632 with a whopping 1.643 slugging percentage.
DeMaria opened the week going 2-for-5 with a double in a win over Sacred Heart and started Fordham's weekend series against Richmond on Friday with a two-run home run. He then went 2-for-2 with a pair of two-run home runs, two walks, four runs scored, and four RBI in game two against the Spiders, and ended the series with two more home runs and two runs scored on Sunday.
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 36 home runs on the year, which has already surpassed last year's total of 26.
Peter DeMaria leads the team with 10 on the season with
Zach Selinger having a career-high eight. Fordham also has six grand slam home runs, following last week that saw the Rams hit three (Selinger – 3,
Sebastian Mexico – 1,
Daniel Bucciero – 1,
Michael Taylor - 1).
GOIN' STREAKIN': Senior
Zach Selinger has reached base in his last 13 games, batting .333 with nine runs scored and eight RBI… Junior
Ryan Thiesse is hitting .323 with 14 runs scored, two home runs, nine RBI, and six stolen bases over his last 14 games… Sophomore Cian Shaler has a .306 batting average with nine runs scored and seven RBI in his last 14 games… Graduate student
Peter DeMaria has 12 runs scored, three doubles, seven home runs, and 19 RBI in his last 14 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: Following this weekend series, Fordham hosts seven straight home games at Houlihan Park, starting with a May 2
nd game against NJIT at 3:00 PM.
