SAN JOSE, Calif. – Heading across the country to Southern California this weekend, Fordham University softball will play five games at Santa Clara and San Jose State as part of the Silicon Valley Classic.
On the Docket
The weekend gets underway in the Golden State with a pair of games at Santa Clara University. The Rams will take on Nevada in the first of two meetings with the Wolfpack at 3:30 p.m. EST before ending the day with a meeting against the Broncos at 8:30 p.m.
Spending the next two days in San Jose, Fordham will take on Nevada again at 1:00 p.m. ahead of a 6:00 p.m. matchup with San Jose State, live on the Mountain West Network. The weekend closes with a Sunday afternoon game against Portland State at 3:30 p.m. Rain is expected in the area throughout the weekend, follow Fordham Softball on Twitter for the latest updates on game times and locations.
Running Through the Order
Playing their first five games in 2024 at the River City Leadoff in Jacksonville, Fla. the Rams started the year 2-3 claiming a pair of wins over Southern Miss on Friday and Saturday. The first victory saw the Rams score all three runs with a big rally midway through, as Neleh Nogay drilled a bases clearing triple to help secure a 3-1 win. Taking on the Eagles again the following afternoon, Fordham would enter the seventh without a run, but another offensive spurt gave the Rams three runs in their final turn at-bat to take a 3-2 win.
Scouting the Opponents
Nevada opened the year with three wins in five games at the Paradise Class, defeating Kansas City to start and end the tournament, along with a win over Hawai'i. Bashing four home runs apiece in the opening weekend Gabby Herrera and Taryn Jenkins led the way on offense, combining for 11 hits and nine runs scored. Through seven innings across four of the first five games, Tyra Clary enters with a 0.0 ERA while Blake Craft tallied all three victories for the Wolfpack in 13.1 innings pitched.
Santa Clara picked up two wins at Fresno State's opening weekend tournament, defeating South Dakota State in their second game of the year, before defeating CSU Bakersfield the following day. With four RBIs and a pair of home runs, Morgan Salmon started in all five games at Fresno State, tallying four hits and four runs scored.
San Jose State earned a victory over Middle Tennessee to close their season opener at the NorCal Kickoff, after starting the tournament 0-4. Shay McDowell led the bats with five hits in 11 plate appearances last weekend, drilling a home run and a pair of doubles. Lacie Ham tossed 12.2 innings and earned the win over Middle Tennessee, to lead the pitching staff for the Spartans.
Portland State opened the year with a doubleheader at CSU Northridge, before getting their first win over Utah State, part of three games at the UC Riverside tournament. Maddie Thompson and Ellie Babbitt combined four nine hits and four runs scored with each hitting over .300 through their first five games.
2023 in Review
The 2024 Rams return five of their top offensive players from a year ago, including Neleh Nogay who hit .397 in 44 starts last season, leading the team while scattering 52 hits and scoring 25 runs, and tallying 15 stolen bases on 16 tries. Sydney Wells joins Nogay as one of the top threats in the batting order for her side, coming off a season that saw her slam eight home runs, and lead the team in RBI's and extra base hits to finish the year with a .520 slugging percentage.
Bailey Enoch was the only Ram to play in every game last season, drawing a team high 26 walks and 12 hit by pitches, finishing along with Nogay as one of two players with a +.400 on-base percentage. Tallying 216 putouts without a single error a year ago, Eva Koratsis finished flawless on the defensive end in 2023, while also providing 22 hits and 17 RBI's offensively.
In the circle the Rams return the entirety of last year's pitching staff, including Holly Beeman who recorded 22 starts and a team-high 109.1 innings pitched. Her rookie campaign would see her earn eight wins and end the year with a 1.89 ERA, finishing amongst the top-20 players in the nation. Enoch, who threw 87.0 innings a year ago, made 13 starts for the Rams, earning six wins alongside Devon Miller who returns to the squad for a fifth-year after hurling 86.2 innings in 2023.
Welcome to Rose Hill
Coach Inouye added five new players, including a graduate transfer and one international student to the Fordham roster in 2024. Joining the Rams from Boston College, Gianna Sarlo was a career .250 hitter for the Eagles, starting eight games in each of the last two seasons, including her junior year where she hit .357 in 19 appearances.
Hailing from Canada, Olivia Simcoe comes to Rose Hill as one of four freshmen on the roster, and the lone international student for the Rams in 2024, adding even more depth to the pitching core. The Rams will also add two more local prospects from the Tri-State, with Mikayla Swan and Erin Hoppe joining the squad from New Jersey, and Annie Sullivan rounds out the 2024 roster, a native of Wheaton, Ill.
New Coach on the Block
In August of 2023 Mackenzie Swinehart joined the Rams as an assistant coach after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Notre Dame.
In her two years in South Bend, the Fighting Irish amassed an overall record of 70-31-1, making an appearance in the NCAA Regionals in each of those seasons. Prior to coaching with the Fighting Irish, Swinehart was a four-year softball player at Western Michigan University where she set all-time career marks for the program in hits (243) and runs scored (673) and is second all-time with a career .361 batting average.
A-10 Preseason Poll
Ahead of the start of the 2024 season, Fordham softball was picked fifth in the A-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 62 votes overall.
What's On Deck
Taking a break from tournament action next weekend, the Rams will head up to Connecticut Saturday, Feb. 24 for a doubleheader at Sacred Heart.
