NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Set for their first game in the Empire State during the 2025 season, Fordham University Softball makes the short trip to Iona for a single game Wednesday afternoon.
Originally slated for a 3:00 p.m. start, the Rams and Gaels will move to a 12:30 first pitch with inclement weather expected later in the day.
Playing for the first time this season in a non-tournament setting, Fordham (6-8) opened the year with three straight weekends on the road, including two trips to South Carolina and one to Texas, to complete the first 14 games of the year amidst a 51-game schedule this season.
The Maroon and White had last weekend off before returning to action today, the first of six games between now and Sunday, as the Rams will embark for five games at James Madison this Friday-Sunday.
Leading the Herd
As a team Fordham sits 41st in the nation in fielding percentage at .973, and 51st in hit by pitches, both second in the A-10. The Rams pitching staff boasts the second best ERA in the league at 3.45, led by Holly Beeman has won each of her last three starts, claiming back-to-back A-10 Pitcher of the Week awards in the second and third week of the year.
Beeman holds a 4-2 record on the year with a 1.28 ERA, the best in the A-10, giving up just eight earned runs in 43.2 innings pitched, tossing six complete games in as many appearances, and is one of only two pitchers in the conference with multiple shutouts on the year.
Neleh Nogay scattered 17 hits through her first 50 at bats, scoring six runs while hitting .340 on the year, all team highs. Sydney Wells sits second on the team with 10 hits, ahead of both Mallory McClellan and Eva Koratsis with nine apiece, and both Erin Hoppe and Mikayla Swan with seven.
Seven Rams have tallied multiple RBIs on the year, led by six from Koratsis, five from Wells, and four from Nogay. Wells and Nicki Sudall tallied the first "See-Ya's" of the year with a solo home run each back in Texas.
Back from Down South
Game 1: Tallying a pair of runs in their first turn at the dish, that would be all Holly Beeman and the Rams defense needed as Fordham defeated UNLV, 2-1 to open the Garnet and Black Invitational, hosted by South Carolina.
Beeman went the full length of the game in the circle and allowed just one run on six hits, as the Rams put their first three runners on base in the bottom of the first inning, with Sydney Wells knocking a single to right field to plate Neleh Nogay, ahead of an RBI groundout by Eva Koratsis to double the lead and put the Rams in front, 2-0 before giving up just a single run later in the game.
Game 2: Fordham allowed just a single run to the nationally ranked Gamecocks through the first four innings of game one that Saturday, before tying the game in the top of the fifth. South Carolina rattled off eight runs in the next two frames, taking the game by run rule, 9-1.
Game 3: Later in the day the Maroon and White pulled out to a 1-0 lead early against UNLV, trading one run apiece in the fifth inning, before the Rebels walked things off with a two run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
Game 4: A pitchers duel in its finest form Sunday morning in South Carolina, the Rams and Terriers entered extra innings with zeros across the line score, and a combined just seven hits, before a clutch base hit by Eva Koratsis in the top of the eighth broke that drought, plating the only run of the afternoon as Fordham defeated Boston University 1-0 to close the weekend in South Carolina.
The 2025 Calendar
Facing six opponents that reached an NCAA Regional last season, the 2025 calendar sees Fordham play 51 games against teams from 14 different conferences including the A-10. With 19 tournament games against 10 different opponents on the non-conference side of the schedule, Fordham will also play six additional midweek non-league games throughout March and April, mixed into a nine-team, 26-game Atlantic 10 slate.
Scouting the Gaels
Iona enters the midweek at 4-8 on the year, but have won four of their last six games including three of four in their most recent series last weekend at Central Connecticut State, outscoring the Blue Devils 23-5 over four games.
With 15 hits, 12 runs scored and 11 RBI's, Hailey Guerrero leads the Gaels hitting .395 on the year while posting a 1.293 slugging percentage, just ahead of Brooke Acker, who has totaled 13 hits in 35 at bats, leading the team with 14 RBI's, slugging 1.187 on the year.
What's Next?
The Maroon and White head back out on the road with a trip to Harrisonburg, Va. for five games at the Lakeside Book Company Tournament hosted by James Madison this Friday-Sunday. Taking on Binghamton and Radford Friday, the Rams battle JMU and Radford on Saturday, before closing the weekend against Binghamton again Sunday morning.a
