Bronx, N.Y. – (April 18, 2024) – It will be a big weekend for the Fordham baseball team, as the Rams will host the first place Saint Louis Billikens at Houlihan Park, starting on Friday afternoon.
Fordham (14-21, 5-4 A10) enters the weekend having won three of their last four games, following Tuesday's 2-1 win over Sacred Heart, while Saint Louis (25-8, 7-2 A10) is on a four-game win streak after sweeping a three-game series from Davidson last weekend.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday – Saint Louis – RHP Jackson Holmes (6-1, 4.66 ERA) vs. Fordham – RHP
Declan Lavelle (5-3, 3.90 ERA)
Saturday – Saint Louis – RHP Charlie Weber (2-0, 5.45 ERA) vs. Fordham – RHP
Aidan Dowd (1-2, 2.73 ERA)
Sunday – Saint Louis – TBD – vs. Fordham – TBD
SERIES HISTORY: Saint Louis holds a 20-12 all-time-series lead over Fordham, which included sweeping a three-game series in St. Louis to end last season. The Billikens have won seven of the last nine match-ups, dating back to 2019. Fordham's last win in the series was on April 2, 2022, taking the front half of a doubleheader.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: The Billikens sit at 25-8 on the year with a 7-2 mark in the Atlantic 10, good for first place in the league. Saint Louis is driven by a potent offense, that is averaging 9.3 runs per contest, while hitting .330 as a team. The Billikens have been led by the trio of Patrick Clohisy, Tyler Fogarty, and Cole Smith. Clohisy is the top hitter at .419 with 44 runs scored, 11 doubles, five triples, six home runs, and 40 RBI, while Fogarty also has six home runs and 40 RBI on the year to go with a .370 batting average. Smith is at .365 on the season with 30 runs scored and 37 RBI. On the mound, Jackson Holmes is an early contender for Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year honors with a 6-1 record and a 4.66 ERA in nine starts. Ethan Bell is the top top reliever with two wins and four saves in 12 appearances, while holding batters to a .205 average.
LAST TIME OUT (4/16): Seven Fordham pitchers held Sacred Heart to just one run on Tuesday afternoon, while
Madden Ocko had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, as the Rams came away with a 2-1 win over the Pioneers at Houlihan Park.
The scoring was few and far between starting with Fordham (14-21) taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. The Rams loaded the bases on singles by
Diego Prieto and
Ryan Thiesse and a walk to
Andrew Kanellis.
Cian Sahler then drew a five-pitch walk to bring Prieto across the plate. It remained that way until the seventh when the Pioneers tied the game at one. Alex Ungar hit a double down the left line with one out and moved to third on a passed ball. He then scored on a ground out by Tim McGuire.
Fordham went back ahead in the bottom of the eighth inning by once again loading the bases. Kanellis was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a bunt single by Sahler, which extended his hit streak to 12 games.
Steve Luttazi then drew a walk to load the bases, forcing Sacred Heart to go to the bullpen.
Madden Ocko came through for the Rams, lifting a sacrifice fly off reliever David Auferio to score Kanellis for the 2-1 advantage.
In the ninth, Sacred Heart did get two on base with one out, but
Aric Berg worked his way out of trouble to record his third save of the season, getting a foul out and a fly out to end the game.
Gannon Brady (2-1) picked up the win in relief with a scoreless eighth inning and two strikeouts.
Aidan Dowd and
Nate Scott each pitched two scoreless frames in the game with Scott recording four strikeouts, while
Trey Maeker and
Dominic Cunha each had a scoreless inning. At the plate, Prieto was 2-for-3 with a run scored with Ocko going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
PROMISING START: The opening three weekends of conference play has been pretty good for the Rams, hitting .313 as a team and averaging just under seven runs per game.
Cian Sahler is batting .417 in conference play with eight RBI, while
Chris Genaro is hitting .393 with eight runs scored and six RBI.
Ryan Thiesse is also ripping the cover off the ball in A-10 play at .385 with eight runs scored with
Daniel Bucciero at .350 with 10 runs scored, three home runs, and 10 RBI. On the hill,
Declan Lavelle has been an ace, going 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 26 strikeouts.
LIGHTIN' IT UP: Cian Sahler is currently on a 12-game hit streak, batting .409 (18-44) over that stretch with 10 RBI…
Ryan Thiesse is batting .385 in his last 11 games with eight runs scored, five extra-base hits, and five RBI…
Daniel Bucciero is hitting .362 in his last 11 games with 11 runs scored, three home runs, and 10 RBI… In his last five starts,
Declan Lavelle is 4-1 with a 4.19 ERA in 34.1 innings with 36 strikeouts…
Aric Berg has a win and three saves in his last seven appearances.
MILESTONES HIT: With a win in the series opener at UMass, Fordham head coach
Kevin Leighton hit a pair of coaching milestones. He recorded his 300th win at Fordham, as well as his 500th career coaching win. Previous to Fordham, he notched 200 wins at Manhattan College.
RAMSES CHALLENGE: Show your support for Fordham Baseball all season long by signing up for the Ramses Challenge! Whether it's wins, home run hits or strikeouts thrown during the 2024 season, now is the perfect time to give back to the program and its student-athletes. Make your pledge by going to FordhamSports.com/RamsesChallenge.
WHO'S NEXT: Fordham will conclude their five-game homestand on Wednesday, April 24
th, as they host FDU for a 3:00 PM contest.
