BRONX, N.Y. – Taking a shutout win behind a dominant effort in the circle, Fordham University softball split a pair of games Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic 10 opener against Rhode Island.
Devon Miller picked up the win in game one, tossing a complete game, one-hitter while striking out eight Rhode Island batters in the process. Miller would break the scoring open with the first run of the game in the fourth, before a pair of runs in the fifth gave Fordham a 3-0 win in game one.
Game two would see Fordham take a 2-1 lead through four innings before a three run rally gave Rhode Island a 4-2 lead after five. Fordham would get one of those runs back late, but Rhody was able to hold on 4-3 to split the first two games of the series
One of three players with an RBI in the early portion of the day, Neleh Nogay tallied a pair of hits, while Miller and Eva Koratsis drove in a run apiece as well. Game two saw six different Rams tally a hit for the home side, with Bailey Enoch reaching base three times with a hit and a pair of walks.
A scoreless first three innings would be followed by a single run, as Fordham set up shop in the bottom of the fourth with runners on first and second. Miller would send a rolling single back up the middle, allowing pinch runner Mallory McClellan to score from second, slipping under a tag at the plate to break the scoreless draw.
Back to back hits by McGuire and Enoch in the fifth would put a pair of runners in scoring position, before Neleh Nogay dropped a blooper into short left field to make it 2-0. Nogay would steal second on the very next at bat, before Wells walked to reload the bases.
Eva Koratsis would sky a pop up to right center, sending the outfielders to the warning track, allowing Enoch to score from third on the sac fly to make it 3-0 through five. Miller would continue to rattle the Rhode Island batting order, giving up just one hit for her third win of the year.
The home Rams would strike first in game two, putting runners on the corners before Nogay came around to score on an error in the bottom of the first.
Rhode Island would counter with a run in the second, before some heads up baserunning on a slow groundout to third allowed Enoch to quickly scamper from second-to-third, before darting straight for the plate for another bang-bang play, giving her side back the lead.
Capitalizing for three runs a short while later, Rhode Island would rally in the top of the fifth, taking a 4-2 lead. Fordham would add one back with a big double by Nicki Sudall down the left field, scoring Enoch all the way from first to cut the deficit in half, but Rhody would hang on to take a 4-3 win and split the double header.
The Battle of the Rams concludes tomorrow with the rubber game at Bahoshy Field at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
