Baseball Heads to Saint Louis for Final A-10 Weekend

Bronx, N.Y. – (May 17, 2023) – The Fordham baseball team begins its final three-game Atlantic 10 series of the season on Thursday, as the Rams head to Saint Louis to face the Billikens at the Billiken Sports Center.
 
Fordham (19-33, 7-14 A10) is coming off its first conference series win of the season over Massachusetts, while Saint Louis (27-21, 12-9 A10) was swept by Davidson.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Thursday – 5:00 PM - Fordham – RHP Declan Lavelle (1-5, 6.84 ERA) vs. Saint Louis – RHP Henry Litman (4-3, 3.95 ERA) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
Friday – 3:00 PM - Fordham – LHP Austin Sachen (0-4, 10.52 ERA) vs. Saint Louis – RHP Owen Chaffin (5-1, 4.58 ERA) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball

Saturday – 12:00 PM - Fordham – LHP Nolan Hughes (2-3, 8.06 ERA vs. Saint Louis – RHP Jackson Holmes (2-1, 6.23 ERA) // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Twitter - @FordhamBaseball
 
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Saint Louis is 27-21 on the year, 12-9 in the Atlantic 10, sitting in sixth place in the league and looking to improve their seeding for the Atlantic 10 Championship.  TheBillikens have sent a pretty consistent trio to the mound on the weekends with Henry Litman (11 starts), Owen Chaffin (13 starts), and Jackson Holmes (11 starts).  Chaffin has a tea-best five victories, while Litman is second in ERA (3.95), while being the team leader in innings pitched (66.0) and strikeouts (49).  At the plate, Saint Louis has a power trio as well with Patrick Clohisy (.343, 10 HR, 54 RBI), Tyler Fogarty (.286, 11 HR, 38 RBI), and Cam Redding (.289, 10 HR, 38 RBI).
 
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Saint Louis have met regularly since the Billikens joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2006.  The Billikens lead the all-time series, 17-12, as they took two of three games last season at Houlihan Park, and have won five of the last eight contests.
 
LAST TIME OUT (5/16): The Fordham Rams and Manhattan Jaspers have exchanged pleasantries on the baseball diamond for over 150 years, dating back to 1870, and have never played a game beyond 12 innings.  That is until Tuesday, as the team played 13 innings with Manhattan getting the walk-off 13-12 win at Clover Stadium in Pomona, N.Y.
 
Cian Sahler got things rolling for Fordham in the second inning, as he connected on a solo home run to right field, his first of the season, for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Rams made it 5-0 in the third inning, rallying for four runs.  Daniel Bucciero and Tommy McAndrews led off with back-to-back walks with Bucciero scoring on a single to center by Zach Selinger.  After Sahler singled to right to load the bases, Will Findlay hit into the double play, which plated McAndrews from third.  Sebastian Mexico then launched a two-run home run to right center, his second of the season, for the five-run lead.
 
Manhattan got on the board in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly and then scored six times in the fourth for a 7-5 lead.
 
Fordham got a run back in the fifth, but the Jaspers answered with a three-run double by Pete Durocher in the bottom of the inning to go up by a 10-6 count.
 
The score remained that way until the seventh, when Tommy McAndrews hit a grand slam home run for Fordham to tie the game at ten.  It was McAndrews' seventh home run of the season and the seventh grand slam for the Rams this year.
 
Neither squad scored in the eighth or ninth innings, pushing the game into extra innings.  In the tenth, McAndrews gave the lead back to the Rams, as he clubbed his second home run of the game to left.  However, Fordham could not hold the lead, as the Jaspers loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning and scored a run on a fielder's choice.

 
Then in the 12^th inning, Mexico put Fordham back on top with an RBI-single to score Selinger from second, making it a 12-11 count.  Manhattan followed with an RBI-single of their own in the bottom of the inning, knotting the game once again.
 
The Jaspers then walked the game off in the bottom of the 13^th, as they loaded the bases with two outs and got a single through the right side by Daniel Perez to take the game, 13-12. 
 
For Fordham, McAndrews finished with two home runs, three runs scored and five RBI, while Mexico was 3-for-7 with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI.  Bucciero and Selinger each finished with two hits and two runs scored.  Sahler and Ryan Meyer also had two hits each for the Rams.
 
SELINGER NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME (5/15): 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 second time this season.  He earned the accolade earlier this year on March 27^th.
 
Selinger had a monster weekend for the Rams, helping the team earn a series win over Massachusetts.  He hit .727 (8-11) with a .769 on-base percentage and 1.364 slugging percentage to go with five runs scored, two home runs, and three RBI.
 
For the year, Selinger has set career-highs in most offensive categories, including runs (33), hits (54), home runs (12), RBI (38), and walks (15), and is on pace to set a personal-best in batting average (.323).
 
Selinger's 12 home runs on the year are the most by a Rams' middle infielder in the 163-year history of the program, while being tied for the fifth-most in a single season by any Ram with Brad Howland (12 – 1988) and Bobby Kingsbury (12 – 2002).

THIESSE & DeMARIA NAMED CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT (5/16): The 2023 Academic All‐District® Baseball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators, was released on Tuesday and recognizes the nation's top student‐athletes for their combined performances in the pool and in the classroom.  Among this year's honorees were Fordham's Peter DeMaria and Ryan Thiesse.
 
A graduate transfer from Tufts University, DeMaria boasts a 3.92 GPA as he studies Finance in the Gabelli Graduate School of Business.  DeMaria has had an outstanding year for the Rams, earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors once.  In 47 games this season, he is batting .294 with 35 runs scored, nine doubles, 11 home runs, and a team-best 40 RBI.
 
Thiesse, a junior outfielder, has a 3.56 GPA in Finance and is a two-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.  He has been the Rams' starting centerfielder all season long and has had a career-year.  Thus far, he has posted personal bests in runs scored (39), hits (55), doubles (5), home runs (5), RBI (23), and stolen bases (19).  He currently ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 in stolen bases this season.
 
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 55 home runs on the year, which has already doubled last year's total of 26.  The 55 home runs are the second-most for the Rams behind only the 1997 team's total of 83. 
 
Zach Selinger leads the squad with a career-high 12 home runs this season with Peter DeMaria having 11.  They are the first pair of Fordham teammates to reach double figures in the same season since Mike Marchiano (29) and Vince Lumia (10) did so in 1997.
 
Fordham also has seven grand slam home runs this season (Selinger – 3, Sebastian Mexico – 1, Daniel Bucciero – 1, Michael Taylor – 1, Tommy McAndrews - 1).

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.