OLEAN, N.Y. – Taking a thrilling 8-6 win to start the afternoon in Upstate New York, Fordham University Softball split a pair of games at St. Bonaventure on Saturday. 

A back and forth opener to this weekend's three game set saw Fordham and St. Bonaventure duel for nearly three hours, with the Rams taking an 8-6 win courtesy of a late rally that saw the visitors score five runs in the sixth inning to take the lead, with Olivia Simcoe picking up the win in the circle.

Finishing game one 3-for-3 with two RBIs, a pair of walks and a run scored, Bailey Enoch would have a stellar day at the plate, going on to hit 3-for-4 with two more runs scored in game two. Nicki Sudall would drive in three RBIs in the early game, and two more in game two, and Neleh Nogay went 3-for-3 with a run scored in the latter game of the day. Eva Koratsis tallied the remaining Fordham run to start the series, while Olivia Simcoe notched her second collegiate win in the circle, tossing 3.2 innings allowing just one run and one hit.

Game two saw the Rams take an early two run lead in the first, but the Bonnies would cut into that deficit with a single run in the bottom of the frame. Fordham would get that run back in the second, but would plate a run in the third to tie it and one more in the fifth to take a 4-3 win to close the day and split the first two games of the series.

Striking first with a pair of runs in the second inning, St. Bonaventure would take the lead early in game one, but the Rams would plate a run in back to back innings to tie things up at two midway through the fourth. The Bonnies countered in the bottom of the frame with three runs of their own to retake the lead, which would hold until the sixth, when the Fordham bats went to work.

Nicki Sudall would bring home the first two runs on a double to the right-center gap, and would score on a wild pitch later in the inning to tie the game at five. An Enoch single would score Bella Ayala, before the Bonnies walked in a run to make it 7-5 Fordham.

After getting one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth, Fordham would again see a run come in with a bases loaded walk, giving Simcoe a two-run cushion to see out the victory in the series opener.

The Rams would waste no time getting on the board in game two, striking for a pair in the opening frame off another Sudall two-run double, extending the Rams' A-10 lead in total doubles as a team. St. Bonaventure would cut that lead in half with a single run in the bottom of the first, but were answered in the very next frame, as Sudall reached base on a throwing error, allowing Enoch to score from third.

Despite the Bonnies loading the bases in the third, Beeman would work out of trouble stranding all three runners and allowing just one run in the frame to keep a one run lead for the Rams. The bats would quickly go back to work for Fordham, threatening in the fourth with the first three batters reaching safely to load the bases for the visitors but the lead would hold at 3-2. St. Bonaventure would tack on a pair of runs down the stretch, and kept the Rams off the board late to see our a 4-3 win.

Fordham and the Bonnies will play the rubber game of the series tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 p.m. with the game streaming live on ESPN+.