Bronx, N.Y. – (February 25, 2025) – After a one-week delay, the Fordham baseball team will have its home opener on Wednesday afternoon at Houlihan Park, as the Rams host the Iona Gaels at 3:00 PM.
WEEKEND RECAP: Fordham (1-6) picked up its first win of the season this past Friday with a 14-10 win over Harvard, while dropping its Saturday contest with Indiana and a doubleheader to Northwestern.
Andrew Kanellis had a good weekend, batting .357 with a double and two RBI, while
Matt Dieguez hit .353 with two runs scored, and three RBI.
Mike Rabayda,
A.J. Pino, and
Gannon Brady were the top arms last weekend. Rabayda threw six innings with nine strikeouts against Northwestern, while Pino struck out five in 3.2 innings against the Wildcats. Brady tossed 3.2 scoreless innings of relief in two appearances, and picked up his first career save.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Fordham – RHP
Jordan Rodarte (0-0, 13.50 ERA) vs. Iona – RHP Jackson Kossow (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SCOUTING REPORT: Iona is 1-4 on the young season. The Gaels split two games against Coppin State, while being swept in a three-game series at Hofstra. Despite the record, the Gaels are averaging nine runs per game and batting .304 as a team. Sean Stephenson is out to a hot start, batting .440 with four runs scored and six RBI, while James Kemp is hitting .360 with five RBI. The Gaels have a 6.20 team ERA with a .265 opponent batting average. Jackson Kossow will get the start for the Gaels, making his first appearance in 2025. Last season, he pitched at Westchester Community College, posting a 3.38 ERA with an 8-2 record and 100 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting between Fordham and Iona since 2022. Fordham holds a 61-28-1 all-time record against the Gaels and have won the last ten meetings. Iona's last win over Fordham came in March 2015.
QUICK HITS: A trio of Rams,
Anthony Grabau,
Matt Dieguez, and
Caden Young each hit their first career home runs on February 15
th. Grabau did so in his first career at bat, while for Young, it came in his second career game… Young almost matched his father, Colin, on the accomplishment. Colin, who played for the Rams in the late 1990s, hit a home run in his first career game back in 1998… Dieguez had a career-high three RBI in the series finale at N.C. State. It was his first career multi-RBI game, which he then matched with three RBI in Fordham's win over Harvard…
Gannon Brady recorded his first career saves with three shutout innings of relief against Harvard.
HELLO, MY NAME IS…: After welcoming 17 new players in 2023 and 18 in 2024, Fordham has 17 newcomers on the 2025 squad, headed up by five graduate transfers and 12 freshmen.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Fordham has announced that graduate student
Andrew Kanellis, seniors
Gannon Brady and
Connor Haywood, and juniors
Tommy McAndrews and
Daniel Bucciero will serve as the team's captains this season. This will be the second year as a team captain for Haywood and McAndrews.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams head to FAU this weekend for a three-game series in Boca Raton, Florida, February 28-March 2.
