Bronx, N.Y. – (May 9, 2024) – The final home series of the Fordham baseball season could not be bigger for the Rams' playoff chances, as they welcome the VCU Rams to Houlihan Park for the first time since 2017.
With six games remaining, Fordham (19-27, 10-8 A10) sits in a tie for fifth place with Richmond, while being a half a game back of VCU (28-20, 10-7 A10) for fourth place and a game back of Massachusetts for third place.
The Rams are also being chased, sitting a game ahead of George Washington and two games ahead of both Saint Joseph's and Rhode Island.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday – VCU – RHP Jack Hoeymans (2-2, 5.20 ERA) at Fordham – RHP
Declan Lavelle (6-4, 4.91 ERA)
Saturday – VCU – LHP Christian Gordon (5-2, 4.31 ERA) at Fordham – RHP
Aidan Dowd (1-2, 3.29 ERA)
Sunday – VCU - TBD at Fordham – TBD
SERIES HISTORY: VCU and Fordham have met 27 times since 2005 with VCU holding a 19-8 lead in the all-time series. The teams last met in 2022 to finish the regular season, as VCU swept a three-game series from Fordham. Fordham's last win over VCU came at the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship. The teams have not played a series against each other at Houlihan Park since 2017. The full series can be found
here.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: VCU stands at 28-20 overall with a 10-7 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Black and Gold boasts one of the top pitching staff in the league, posting a 4.91 team ERA and holding opponents to a .274 batting average. Christian Gordon has been one of the top stating pitchers in the league, posting a 5-2 record with a 4.31 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. VCU also has a dynamic bullpen duo of Brian Curley and Owen Tappy, who have a combined 12 wins and four saves in 31 appearances. At the plate, Brandon Eike is the big bat in the lineup, hitting .356 with 25 doubles, eight home runs, and 45 RBI.
LAST TIME OUT (5/5): A trio of Saint Joseph's pitchers held the Fordham Rams to only two hits, while Justin Igoe hit a three-run home run, as the Hawks picked up a 7-1 win over the Rams at Houlihan Park on Sunday morning.
The Hawks got on the board quickly by loading the bases and getting an RBI-single by Owen Petrich.
The score stayed at 1-0 until the sixth, when Fordham knotted the game at one. The Rams loaded the bases with one out on singles by
Daniel Bucciero and
Ryan Thiesse and a walk to
Andrew Kanellis.
Cian Sahler then lift a sacrifice fly to center to score Bucciero from third.
Saint Joseph's regained the lead in the next inning, rallying for five runs and a 6-1 lead, highlighted by a three-run home run by Justin Igoe, his sixth of the season. The Hawks added an insurance run in the eighth for the 7-1 final.
Fordham did not find much offense, getting just the two singles in the sixth inning.
PROMISING START: After six weeks of conference play, the Rams are right in the thick of the Atlantic 10 playoff chase, having won four of their six league series. The team is hitting .288 on conference play and averaging 5.9 runs per game.
Cian Sahler is batting .411 in conference play with 16 RBI, while
Daniel Bucciero is also tearing it up at .321 with 18 runs scored, seven home runs, and 20 RBI.
Ryan Thiesse is seeing the ball well in A-10 play, hitting .312 with 17 runs scored and five stolen bases. On the hill,
Declan Lavelle has been an ace, going 4-1 in 41.1 innings with 33 strikeouts.
LIGHTIN' IT UP: Though his school record hit streak was broken on May 5
th,
Cian Sahler certainly made the most of it, batting .407 over those 22 games with 10 runs scored and 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 .321 over 16 games with a pair of doubles and seven RBI…
Aric Berg is 2-1 with four saves in his last eight appearances with a 4.50 ERA…
Gannon Brady is 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in his last eight appearances…
Nate Scott has not given up a run in his last five appearances (10 IP, 3 hits, 7 strikeouts).
GOIN' STREAKIN': Junior
Cian Sahler put his name in the Fordham record book on May 4
th, as he extended his streak to a school record 22 games. He surpassed the previous mark of 21 games, which was reached originally by Bob DiVincenzo in 1977 and then matched by Ray Montgomery in 1988. The streak would end the following day, as he went 0-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly.
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 wrap up the regular season with a three-game Atlantic 10 series at St. Bonaventure, May 16-18.
