BRONX, N.Y. – Returning to the friendly confines of Bahoshy Field for a single game Wednesday afternoon, Fordham University Softball hosts LIU at 3:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
Stack 'Em Up
Fordham (21-20, 11-6 A-10) look to snap a four-game skid following a 10-game winning streak, falling at George Washington in a weekend series Friday and Saturday.
Fordham's offense ranks amongst the A-10 leaders, second in the league and ranked with 309 hits. The Rams also rank second in batting average (.285), home runs (24), and sit third in on-base percentage (.376), slugging percentage (.401), and runs scored (187). The Rams' 53 stolen bases as a team place them third best in the A-10, 76th best of all Division I teams.
On the defensive end, the Rams have turned 12 double-plays this year, third most of any team in the league, and sit 45th in the nation with a .969 fielding percentage as a team, 55th best in the nation.
The Rams are amidst a stretch that will see them play eight of nine games on the road after trips to Philadelphia and Washington D.C. for a combined five games last week. Hosting LIU Wednesday, Fordham hits the road again Thursday for a trip to Dayton for a three game series next Friday-Saturday.
Leading the Lineup
On the season, Neleh Nogay leads the Rams and all players in the A-10, ranked 25th in the country with 58 hits and her 37 stolen bases are fourth best of any player in the nation, breaking Fordham's single season program record Sunday afternoon. Nogay is batting .389 on the year, second best in the A-10, while driving in 15 RBIs and scoring 35 runs.
Sydney Wells leads the Rams with 32 RBIs and 38 walks, while sitting second in the A-10 in on-base percentage (.520), third in home runs (8), and fourth in slugging percentage (.670). Wells averages 0.93 walks per game, ranked 10th best amongst all Division I players.
Eva Koratsis is hitting .306 with 38 hits, driving 27 RBIs, second most on the team along with 17 runs scored, one of six Rams with 30 or more base-knocks. Nicki Sudall sits second on the team with six home runs, while driving in 26 RBIs this season, third most on the team, while scoring 15 runs and scattering 36 hits.
Center Circle
Holly Beeman holds an 11-5 record on the year, and has tallied the second best ERA in the A-10 at 2.28, ranked 86th in the nation, while tossing the third most innings of any pitcher in the conference with 107.2 on the year. She also sits 51st in the nation in shutouts, and 38th nationally with just 1.43 walks allowed per seven innings, third best in the A-10.
Tossing 14 complete games in 17 appearances, Beeman sits 15th in the nation in complete games, and has claimed a pair of A-10 Pitcher of the Week awards thus far in the second and third week of the year, with her 11 victories good enough for second best in the A-10 and 88th best in the country.
Emilee Watkins has tallied six wins on the season, posting 65.1 innings pitched, striking out 25 batters over that span, while Olivia Simcoe nabbed wins in the last two non-conference outings, tossing a full seven innings in each while allowing just five runs and striking out eight batters over that span.
Swerve, Bend That Corner, Woah-oh
With 37 stolen bases on the year, Neleh Nogay set a new single season program record at Fordham in game one Sunday, surpassing Jessica Hughes' record of 36 from the 2016 campaign. In her third season in Maroon and White, Nogay has stolen 75 bases in her career, second all-time in Fordham history, needing just 11 more to tie for the Rams' all-time steals record, set by Brianna Pinto with 85.
In a doubleheader against Loyola-Chicago on Mar. 15, Nogay stole five bases in six attempts, tying a program record with four steals in four tries in game two Saturday against Loyola Chicago. Brianna Pinto '22 was the only player to do so, just a handful of years ago, stealing four bases at Stony Brook on Apr. 8, 2021.
At George Washington
Striking in the first inning Saturday, Fordham broke out to an early lead with a Sydney Wells solo shot on the third pitch of the afternoon to put the visitors in front. George Washington countered with a home run of their own to tie it in the bottom of the frame, but the Rams pulled back in front in the second, thanks to an RBI single from Eva Koratsis to make it 2-1.
Rallying for four runs in the fourth inning, the Revolutionaries pulled out to a four-run lead, which they would see out the rest of the way.
A back-and-forth battle in game one Saturday saw Fordham take the lead in the first inning, and went back in front in the third, 3-2 on a solo home run by Sydney Wells. After George Washington took the lead 5-3, Eva Koratsis knocked her second two-run basehit of the game, as the Rams rallied again in the fifth to take back a 6-5 lead.
The Revs tied the game again in the bottom of that frame, sending it to extra innings in a game that lasted 3:20, before walking it off in the ninth to win 7-6. Eva Koratsis drove in four of the Rams' six RBIs in game one, while Nogay tallied three hits and a pair of runs scored, along with her stolen bases.
Game two saw George Washington tack on a pair of runs in the first inning, and one more in the fifth to take a 3-0 win to sweep the series.
Series History
Facing one another for just the second time since the merger between LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, the Sharks claimed the lone meeting between the two sides, 3-0 in 2023.
Scouting LIU
At 18-18 on the year, LIU holds a dominant 12-3 league record in the NEC, and have won 11 of their last 12 games heading into Wednesday. Hitting .356 with a 1.066 OPS, Lily Hinkle leads the Sharks' offense with 27 RBIs and 35 runs scored off 38 hits, while drawing 28 walks as well.
What's Next?
Heading back out on the road, the Rams head to Ohio for a three-game series at Dayton, with a single game Friday evening and doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
