Bronx, N.Y. – (March 6, 2025) – The Fordham baseball team will have their final weekend series before conference play begins, as the Rams take on Army West Point for a split three-game series. Friday and Sunday's game are scheduled to be played at Houlihan Park in the Bronx, while Saturday will be at West Point.
SCOUTING REPORT: Army is 2-7 on the season and comes into the weekend batting .209 with a 4.80 team ERA. Starting pitcher Justin Lehman has had a good start to 2025, going 1-0 in three starts with a 2.50 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 18.0 innings, while Trey Ates has seen all three of his appearances out of the bullpen, recording a save in 7.1 innings to go with a 4.91 ERA. At the plate, Thomas Schreck is the top bat, hitting .345 with five extra-base hits and seven RBI. Addison Ainsworth has a team-high eight RBI to go with a .333 batting average and seven runs scored.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday - Fordham – RHP
Aidan Dowd (0-2) vs. Army West Point – RHP Trey Ates (0-1)
Saturday - Fordham – RHP
Mike Rabayda (0-3) vs. Army West Point – RHP Justin Lehman (1-0)
Sunday - Fordham – LHP
A.J. Pino (0-0) vs. Army West Point – TBD
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Army have a long standing series, dating back to the early 1900s. Since 1902, Fordham is 52-46-1 against Army with Friday's game being the 100
th match-up. The Rams got the better of the Black Knights last season, defeating Army three times over the course of the season. Fordham earned a 9-7 win in Deland, Florida, a 7-5 win at West Point, and a 4-2 victory at Houlihan Park.
In those three contests,
Cian Sahler hit .556 (5-9) against the Black Knights, while
Daniel Bucciero batted .385 (5-13) with two runs scored, two extra base hits and four RBI.
Aidan Dowd started one of three games, posting five shutout innings with six strikeouts in a win.
Koen Smith and Connor Haywod each had a save out of the bullpen for two of the wins.
LAST TIME OUT (3/4): Stony Brook hit five home runs and allowed just two runs on the mound, as the Seawolves defeated the Fordham Rams, 14-2, at Houlihan Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Jordan Rodarte (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits over 3.1 innings.
Connor Haywood also pitched 3.1 innings in the game, giving up only one run on two hits. At the plate,
Matt Dieguez was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while
Andrew Kanellis was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases.
Madden Ocko was also 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
HOT STICKS: Through the first dozen games of the season,
Daniel Bucciero picked up right where he left off last season, batting .342 with four runs scored, three doubles, and five RBI to go with three stolen bases…
Taylor Kirk has kicked off his Fordham career by reaching base safely in the first 11 games. He currently has a team-high 11 runs scored to go with three stolen bases… After recording just three RBI as a freshman,
Matt Dieguez has already quadrupled that total with 12 RBI this season to go with a .326 batting average and six runs scored...
Madden Ocko has been a solid bat as well, batting .325 with seven runs scored, three doubles, and seven RBI.
WHO'S NEXT: Following this weekend, the Rams will host Navy on Wednesday, March 12
th at 3:00 PM.
