Bronx, N.Y. – (May 2, 2024) – With only three weekends left in the regular season, it's becoming crunch time in the Atlantic 10, where every game takes on extra meaning and that is certainly the case this weekend at Houlihan Park, where the Fordham Rams host the Saint Joseph's Hawks for three games.
Fordham (18-25, 9-6 A10) rolls into this league series having won four of five series this season, including last weekend at Rhode Island. The Rams are currently in a tie for fourth place in the standings and just a game and a half out of first place.
Saint Joseph's (18-22, 6-9 A10) is on the outside looking in with three weeks to go, as they are tied for eighth place after being swept at Massachusetts last weekend.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday – Saint Joseph's – RHP Domenic Picone (4-2, 5.24 ERA) at Fordham – RHP
Declan Lavelle (6-4, 4.48 ERA)
Saturday – Saint Joseph's – RHP Will McClausland (2-4 (5.49 ERA) at Fordham – RHP
Aidan Dowd (1-2, 2.97 ERA)
Sunday – Saint Joseph's – LHP Ryan DeSanto (2-2, 5.21 ERA) at Fordham – TBD
SERIES HISTORY: The two Jesuit institutions have met plenty over the course of their time in the Atlantic 10. Starting in 1996 with the first meeting, the Hawks lead the all-time series at 38-34-1. The teams met last season in Philadelphia with Saint Joseph's sweeping Fordham in a three-game series and have now won five of the last six meetings.
Full series can be found here.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: Saint Joseph's is 18-22 on the season with a 6-9 record in the Atlantic 10. The Hawks once again boast a potent lineup with six batters at .294 or better in batting average. Ryan Weingartner has had an excellent campaign, hitting .326 over 40 games with 11 doubles, 11 home runs, and 43 RBI, while Owen Petrich has a .303 average with nine doubles, seven home runs, and 41 RBI. Conlin Wall is another dangerous hitter at .340 on the year with 46 runs scored, 25 RBI, and 17 stolen bases.
LAST TIME OUT (4/30): Manhattan's Daniel Perez collected three hits and scored two runs to lead the Jaspers to a 6-3 win over the Fordham Rams at Houlihan Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Manhattan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, as they loaded the bases and scored two runs on an error and one on a sacrifice fly.
Fordham pulled within a 3-2 score in the fourth inning.
Michael Taylor led off with a solo home run to left field, his first of the season.
Chris Genaro followed with a ground-rule double and then scored on a ground-rule double down the right field line by
Carson Chavez.
The Jaspers answered back with a single run in the fifth and two in the sixth to extend the lead to 6-2. Trevor Hansen recorded an RBI-single in the fifth inning, while Drew Wyers did the same in the sixth. The other run scored on a sacrifice fly. The Rams clawed back within three in the bottom of the seventh, when Taylor scored on a passed ball from third base to make it 6-3, after reaching on a triple to right.
The game finished as a 6-3 final, as Manhattan got a 1.2 innings of scoreless relief from Tyler Babel to record his first save of the year.
Fordham had plenty of chances to score more than three runs, as the Rams left 17 runners on base. Taylor led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple, and two runs scored, while Chavez was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Cian Sahler did extend his hit streak to 20 games with a bunt single in the third inning, becoming the third Ram ever to get a hit in 20 consecutive games, joining Bob DiVincenzo in 1977 and Ray Montgomery in 1988.
PROMISING START: After five weeks of conference play, the Rams are right in the thick of the Atlantic 10 playoff chase, having won four of their five league series. The team is hitting .304 on conference play and averaging 6.4 runs per game.
Cian Sahler is batting .406 in conference play with 15 RBI, while
Daniel Bucciero is also tearing it up at .348 with 17 runs scored, seven home runs, and 20 RBI.
Ryan Thiesse is seeing the ball well in A-10 play, hitting .333 with 16 runs scored and five stolen bases. On the hill,
Declan Lavelle has been an ace, going 4-1 with a 4.95 ERA in 36.1 innings with 33 strikeouts.
LIGHTIN' IT UP: Cian Sahler is currently on a 20-game hit streak, batting .392 (31-79) over that stretch with 19 RBI…
Daniel Bucciero hit .344 for the month of April, posting five doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, and eight stolen bases… Since taking over as the Rams' starting second baseman,
Madden Ocko is hitting .306 over 14 games with a pair of doubles and five RBI… In his last five starts,
Declan Lavelle is 4-1 with a 4.95 ERA in 36.1 innings with 33 strikeouts…
Aric Berg has two wins and four saves in his last 10 appearances…
Robbie Stewart is 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA in his last five appearances, recording 15 strikeouts in 17 innings…
Gannon Brady is 1-0 in his last nine relief appearances with a 2.70 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
GOIN' STREAKIN': With
Cian Sahler reaching 20 games on his current hitting streak, he has reached some rare air. It is the longest hit streak over the last 36 seasons, where only three other players had a hit streak of at least 16 games – Jason Coules (18 – 2020-21), Mike Marchiano (17 – 107), and John Mollicone (16 – 2007). The school record for the Rams is 21 games, which was reached originally by Bob DiVincenzo in 1977 and then matched by Ray Montgomery in 1988.
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: Following this series, Fordham will be back home on May 10-12, when the Rams host VCU for a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Houlihan Park.
