Baseball Plays Host to Wagner on Wednesday

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 12, 2024) – After setting season-highs with 17 runs and 20 hits on Sunday, the Fordham baseball team looks to keep the offense rolling on Wednesday, when the Rams host Wagner for the 3:00 PM contest at Houlihan Park.
 
Fordham (3-11) salvaged the final game of its series at William & Mary on Sunday, posting a 17-7 win.  In that game, both Cian Sahler and Nico Boza had career days for the Rams, as each drove in a career-high four runs with Boza also having his first career four-hit game.
 
Wagner (3-11) enters this week off a series sweep of Delaware State.  The Seahawks are slated to play on Tuesday against Saint Peter's before making their way to Houlihan Park on Wednesday.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Wednesday will be the 74^th all-time meeting between Fordham and Wagner.  The series began in 1947 with Fordham holding the edge in the series, 52-21.  The Rams won last year's meeting on Staten Island by a 10-7 score, scoring four in the eighth inning to break a six-all tie.  Michael Taylor collected three hits and an RBI in the win for Fordham with Daniel Bucciero driving in three runs.
 
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Wagner had a rough start to the 2024 season, losing their first 11 games, which started with being swept by both #15 North Carolina and #8 Texas A&M.  The Seahawks are batting .208 as a team with a 9.23 team ERA.  Heading into this week's action, Chris Conniff is hitting .288 with a team-high 11 RBI, while Zack Kent leads the squad in batting average (.295) and runs scored (8).
 
LAST TIME OUT (3/10): Behind career-best performances from Cian Sahler and Nico Boza, the Fordham baseball team snapped a six-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon with a 17-7 win over William & Mary at Plumeri Park in Virginia.
 
Fordham (3-11) got things rolling the third inning, scoring three times for the initial lead. Ben Parker put William & Mary within one at 3-2, as he hit a solo home run in the third and had an RBI-single in the fifth.
 
The Rams answered with three runs in the sixth for a 6-2 advantage, as Sahler registered an RBI-single, while Boza followed with a two-run home run to right center, his second of the season.  The Tribe had a big response with five runs in the bottom of the inning, which was capped by a Parker two-run home run, making it, 7-6 in favor of William & Mary.
 
Fordham's offense then took over, scoring the final 11 runs of the game over the last three innings.  The Rams scored three times in the seventh, highlighted by another RBI-single by Sahler, and then netted six runs in the eighth inning with the biggest hit being a two-run home run by Andrew Kanellis, his third of the season.  Fordham's scoring ended with two runs in the ninth with a sacrifice fly by Sahler and an RBI-single by Boza.
 
For Fordham, Boza and Sahler each had career days.  Boza recorded his first career four-hit, four-RBI game, going 4-for-6 with a home run, three runs scored, and four RBI, while Sahler was 3-for-5 with career-highs of three runs scored and four RBI.  Additionally, Bucciero, Kanellis, and Luttazi each had two hits, two runs, and two RBI in the game with Ryan Thiesse going 3-for-7.
 
WE'RE GOIN' STREAKIN': Andrew Kanellis is currently on a seven-game hitting streak for the Rams, batting .429 in that stretch with three runs scored, two home runs, eight RBI, and a .536 on-base  percentage… Ryan Thiesse is on a five-game hitting streak, batting .458 in those games with four runs scored, two doubles, three RBI, and a .480 on-base percentage… Nico Boza has a four-game hit streak on the books, batting .429 with four runs scored, a home run, and four RBI over that time… Declan Lavelle has been good on the mound right from the get-go, posting a 3.43 ERA and a .221 opponent batting average in four starts… Connor Haywood has a 1.59 ERA and a .150 opponent batting average in his last four relief appearances… Aidan Dowd made a splash is his first three appearances, recording nine strikeouts, a 2.08 ERA, and a .133 opponent batting average.
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams have a round robin weekend of play March 15-17.  On March 15, the Rams will be at Army for a noon game, followed by an 11:30 AM game on March 16^th at Fairfield.  Army and Fairfield then both come to Houlihan Park on Sunday, March 17^th.