WASHINGTON – Trading the lead back-and-forth multiple times Thursday afternoon, No. 3 seed Fordham University Softball defeated No. 2 Saint Louis, 6-5 to advance in the winners' bracket to the semifinal round of the 2025 Atlantic 10 Championship in Washington D.C.
The Maroon and White tallied a pair of runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to answer a trio of scoring outbursts from the Billikens, claiming their second straight win at the league championship, and will face No. 1 Dayton for a shot in the title game tomorrow afternoon.
Picking up her fourth consecutive win in the circle, Elizabeth Gaisior threw the final 4.2 innings in relief Thursday, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out three, and shutting down 12 of the final 13 batters she faced to seal the game.
Scattering 14 hits as a team on the day, Mallory McClellan led the way at the dish for Fordham, hitting 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, alongside Neleh Nogay who went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sydney Wells and Nicki Sudall also added two RBIs apiece on a pair of hits, and Allie Clark added two hits and a run scored as well.
Saint Louis broke open the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, starting a stretch that saw the two sides combine to score in six consecutive half innings. Using the old adage of 'a bloop and a blast' the Rams did just that in the top of the third, with a single by Nogay putting a runner on for Wells' 17th home run of the season to tie the game at two.
Battling back the Billikens tallied two more in the bottom of the frame, before Fordham answered once again off a two-run double by Nicki Sudall to the left-center gap, tying things up at four apiece. The Rams limited Saint Louis to a single run in their turn to bat in the fourth, before their own bats went back to work in the fifth.
Leading off with a double to left-center, Kate McGuire came home to score on a double by Mcclellan, and after the Billikens prevented the initial go-ahead run at the plate, a Nogay double scored Clark to make it 6-5 Rams. That would be all Gaisior needed in the circle as she allowed just one more hit the rest of the way to take the win, her first collegiate playoff victory.
Fordham advances in the winners' bracket to the semifinals of the 2025 Atlantic 10 Championship and will take on No. 1 Dayton Friday at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN+ for a spot in the title game.
