Bronx, N.Y. – (April 3, 2025) – As the calendar moves from March to April, April showers will come into play this weekend for the Fordham baseball team's Atlantic 10 series against the Davidson Wildcats at Houlihan Park. The teams have agreed to play a 1:00 PM doubleheader on Friday, while the final game of the series could be either Saturday or Sunday depending on the weather.
The series will feature two of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 through the first three weeks of conference play. Fordham (15-14, 7-2 A-10) has won five straight games and nine of their ten to sit in first place in the league standings. Davidson (11-16, 6-3 A-10) is in a tie for second place in the Atlantic 10 with Rhode Island and Saint Louis.
SCOUTING REPORT: Davidson is 11-16 overall with a 6-3 mark in the Atlantic 10, having lost three of its last four games. The Wildcats boast a potent offense, averaging 7.9 runs per game and have hit 46 home runs on the year. They are led by the hitting duo of Michael O'Shaughnessy and Eli Putnam. O'Shaughnessy, the reigning A-10 Player of the Week, is batting .374 with 31 runs scored, 10 doubles, eight home runs, and 36 RBI, while Putnam is at .369 with 33 runs scored, nine home runs and 28 RBI. Wilson Perkins is at the top of the Davidson rotation, posting three wins and 33 strikeouts in seven starts.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) - Fordham – RHP
Aidan Dowd (2-2, 5.57 ERA) vs. Davidson – RHP Wilson Perkins (3-4, 6.75 ERA)
Friday (G2) – Fordham – RHP
Mike Rabayda (1-3, 6.82 ERA) vs. Davidson – LHP Isaac Fix (2-3, 9.82 ERA)
Saturday – Fordham – TBD vs. Davidson - TBD
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Davidson have played 12 times since Davidson joined the Atlantic 10 with the Rams holding a 7-5 advantage. The strange part of the series is that only the first three games were at Houlihan Park, as the Wildcats have not met Fordham for a three-game series since 2015. The squads last met in 2023 at Davidson, where the Wildcats took two of three games.
LAST TIME OUT (4/1): Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Vitale is well known for his colorful calls over the years on college broadcasts with one of his more famous descriptions of a superlative effort being, "He was super, scintillating, sensational!" That description would be appropriate for Fordham baseball pitcher
Zach Karson on Tuesday, as he tossed a career-best seven shutout innings in a 5-2 over the Monmouth Hawks at Houlihan Park.
Fordham opened the scoring with a three-run second inning. The Rams loaded the bases for
Carson Chavez, who was hit by a pitch to force in the first run of the game.
Tommy Markey followed with a two-run single up the middle for a 3-0 lead.
The Rams extended the lead to 4-0 in the third on an RBI-double by
Chase Hanawalt, scoring
Daniel Bucciero from third base. The final run for Fordham came in the seventh.
Taylor Kirk singled to left, stole second, and moved to third on a ground out. Bucciero followed with an RBI-single to right, scoring Kirk.
Monmouth was kept off the scoreboard due to the pitching efforts of
Zach Karson. Karson (1-0) tossed a career-best seven scoreless innings, giving up just three hits in the game, while tying a career-high with four strikeouts.
The Hawks did break up the team shutout with a two-run double by Casey Caufield in the bottom of the eighth, but
Ryan Egan recorded the final four outs to secure the 5-2 win. For Fordham, Bucciero was 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base, while Markey was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI.
GOIN' STREAKIN': The Rams are 9-1 in their last 10 games and are on their first five-game win streak since March 2023… Over the 10-game stretch, Fordham is averaging 9.2 runs per game, while hitting .308 as a team…
Tommy Markey has been on fire over that stretch, batting .419 with nine runs scored, a home run, six RBI, and three stolen bases. He is also on a six-game hit streak…
Taylor Kirk is batting .400 in the last 10 games with 15 runs scored, eight RBI, and eight stolen bases, and takes an eight-game hit streak into the weekend…
Daniel Bucciero has turned the dial to 12 in his last 10 contests with 12 runs scored, 12 RBI, and 12 stolen bases, while hitting .364 at the plate…
Andrew Kanellis (12),
Matt Dieguez (10), and
Cian Sahler (10) all have double digit RBI totals over the last 10 games as well...
Aidan Dowd is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last four starts with 19 strikeouts over 21 innings.
MEN OF STEAL: The Rams have gotten back into a stealing mode with 70 stolen bases this season, ranking 15
th in the NCAA, entering this weekend's play, while being 21
st in stolen bases per game (2.48). Fordham has nine players with at least three stolen bases this season, led by
Daniel Bucciero, who is 16
th in the country with 20, while
Taylor Kirk is 32
nd with 17.
WHO'S NEXT: Following this series, Fordham wraps up its five-game homestand on Wednesday, April 9
th, against Columbia.
