BRONX, N.Y. – It may have been something in the Bronx air, as down Grand Concourse, the New York Yankees rattled off nine home runs, one shy of an MLB record in a 20-9 win at Yankee Stadium. Back home at Bahoshy Field, Fordham University Softball poured on 27 runs on 26 hits over seven innings, to claim a doubleheader sweep over St. Bonaventure, 15-0, and 12-3, taking both games in five innings.
The Rams posted multiple runs in five different innings on a wild day for the offense, while in the pitching circle, both Holly Beeman and Emilee Watkins combined to allow just five hits, tossing the entirety of games one and two, respectively.
Neleh Nogay was relentless on offense, going 5-for-6 on stolen bases, moving all the way from sixth to third for most steals in a single season at Fordham with now 28 on the year. Ranked 10th in the nation in stolen bases entering the weekend, Nogay is up to 65 career steals, one back of fourth all-time in program history, and could potentially move up as high as third tomorrow, which would tie Melissa Andrews '09 with 68.
Beeman fanned the first 10 batters she faced in game one, striking out a season-high eight batters, while allowing just two hits on the day. The Rams ripped three of their first four hits for extra bases, with all three coming just inches shy of leaving the yard, and went on to four runs in the opening frame.
Scoring two more in the third, the Maroon and White rattled off nine runs in the fourth, before shutting down the Bonnies in the fifth to take the opener.
St. Bonaventure tallied three runs early in game two, with the Rams adding one back in the bottom of the first. Watkins would not allow a baserunner the rest of the way, and her offense backed her up with 11 more unanswered runs with four in the second and seven more in the third, to sweep the series and improve to 6-2 in league play and 15-16 overall.
On The Stat Sheet
12 different players tallied a run scored across the two games, and nine would record a hit, with Nicki Sudall and Neleh Nogay leading the way as they each hit 5-for-6 with four and three RBI's respectively. Sydney Wells drove in six RBIs and Eva Koratsis drove in five, while Kate McGuire brought in another four.
Nogay also drew a pair of walks on top of her five stolen bases, and came around to score six times, with four different Rams scoring at least three times and four more doing so twice.
Game 1: Fordham 15, St. Bonaventure 0
After getting through the top of the first inning in just nine pitches, the bottom of the first saw the Rams send all nine batters to the dish, scoring four runs on five hits, with the first six batters reaching safely.
A Neleh Nogay single was followed by a Sydney Wells double to put the Rams on the board early. Eva Koratsis came home after being hit by a pitch, with Nicki Sudall doubling before scoring on the next at-bat, and Erin Hoppe single to nearly the same spot off the right field wall. Kate McGuire added one more run on a single to left, before a Bonnies pitching change ended the rally for the moment.
Sudall tallied her second RBI of the day in the third with a solo home run, ahead of Hoppe scoring on a Sophie Nesturrick double to push a 6-0 Fordham lead. Loading the bases in the fourth, McGuire drove in a pair of runners with a single to left, ahead of a Mallory McClellan single to make it 9-0.
McGuire came home on a wild pitch, before Victoria Klimaszewski drove in the first run of her collegiate career, and came around to score later in the inning. Nogay singled up the middle on the next at-bat to open a 12-0 advantage, before Wells put the final stamp on game one with a three-run home run to make it 15-0.
Game 2: Fordham 12, St. Bonaventure 3
Getting the upper hand to start game two, the Bonnies tallied three hits in the opening frame to take a 3-0 lead, but were held without a baserunner the rest of the way as Watkins shut down the final 12 batters she faced to take her fifth win of the season.
Fordham countered in the bottom of the frame as Wells came home on a Sudall single, before a four-run second inning saw the Rams take back the lead. Leading off with a McClellan double off the wall in right-center, Nogay drove her in ahead of a Wells single to score Mikayla Swan.
Continuing to drive in runs, Sudall brought home two more runs on a double to left to put her side in front. Loading the bases to open the third, the Rams moved station-to-station on a RBI single from Nogay, and a fielder's choice to the plate allowed a seventh Fordham run to score and keep the bases juiced.
Unloading on the first pitch Koratiss sent a no-doubter to dead centerfield, a grand slam to open an 11-3 lead, before a solo home run from McGuire a few batters later to pour on 12 unanswered runs to take the series and move into a tie for second place in the A-10 standings.
What's Next
Fordham and St. Bonaventure close the series Sunday afternoon with a single game at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
