Baseball Wins First Two Games Against N.Y. Tech

If one word can sum up the first weeks of the Fordham baseball season, it is uneven. The play of the Rams has been uneven and Fordham's schedule has been all over the place. The Rams have looked jittery on the field and have been inconsistent both at the plate and on the mound. What we have is a team that is still forming its identity in out-of-conference play.

In the past two weeks the Rams were decisively swept by Duke and fell to Manhattan, but also defeated New York Tech in two tight home games. It will be interesting going forward to see whether Fordham becomes the team that featured sharp pitching and timely hitting against NYIT or the one that struggled in all features of the game against the Blue Devils.

Fordham opened its series on the road versus Duke on Friday, Feb. 26 with a difficult 5-4 loss. The Rams showed toughness in rallying from two deficits. However, an error in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Blue Devils the edge they needed for the win.

    Fordham would fall behind 2-1 in the bottom of the third but battled back to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth with a two-out rally, as sophomore second baseman Nick Martinez bases-loaded RBI single gave Fordham the advantage.

Duke regained the lead with by manufacturing runs, tying the game in the bottom of the fourth on an error and infield single and taking the lead in the eighth on a hit by pitch and sacrifice fly, but the Rams would not go away in the ninth, knotting the game at four on a double to center field by junior designated hitter Chris Walker.

Fordham's series of miscues cost them permanently in the ninth. Two errors put runners on first and second before left fielder Dennis O'Grady smacked a game-winning RBI single.

Freshman Rich Anastasi (0-1) took the hard-luck loss for Fordham, allowing one earned run on four hits in 2.2 innings of relief. At the plate, Walker was 3-5 with two doubles and two RBI. The Rams committed three errors to contribute to their defeat.

Fordham returned the next day with a flat, out-of-control performance. Fordham hurlers permitted seven walks and six hit batsmen as the Blue Devils were victorious 11-4.

The Rams struck first with two runs in the first inning. Walker recorded an RBI double and senior right fielder P.J. Como an RBI single. From that point on, though, it was downhill for Fordham. Junior Brian Pendergast walked the first three batters to load the bases before a walk forced in a run and consecutive RBI singles created a 4-2 Blue Devils lead.

Another four-spot came from Duke in the second as it loaded the bases on two hit batsmen and a walk before back-to-back RBI extra-base hits.

Following the third inning the Fordham pitching staff settled down and gave their offense a chance to get back in the game with 4.1 innings of scoreless relief from sophomore Jordan Grangard and senior Brando Casalicchio. The Rams scored two runs in the fifth to make it an 8-4 game.

Fordham pitchers were unable to find the plate in the seventh and Duke put the game away. Junior James Stone and freshman Ryan DeMartino loaded the bases on a walk and hit batsmen before Duke scored three on an infield single, another hit batter and a sacrifice fly.

Como was 2-4 with a double and two RBI for Fordham. Newcomer Pendergast (0-1) could not control his stuff and was horrendous for the Rams, allowing eight runs on three hits with five walks and two hit batters.

The final contest against Duke that Sunday mirrored the previous day's loss, with Fordham again taking an early lead before a big inning by the Blue Devils turned the tide. The Rams finished their road sweep with an 8-3 loss.

Fordham took a 2-1 advantage in the fourth. Walker's RBI double down the right field line tied the game before the Rams loaded the bases on free passes. Sophomore shortstop Brian Kownacki then plated Walker with a sacrifice fly.

Junior John Flanagan cruised into the sixth inning for the Rams, having retired 15 straight batters, but then suddenly lost control of the game. First baseman Jeremy Gould's RBI double tied the game at two and Will Piwnica-Worm's two-run triple gave Duke the lead. The Blue Devils pushed their lead to 8-2 after the eighth. Fordham scored on an error in the ninth, but that was as far as their comeback went.

Flanagan (0-2) allowed six runs on four hits in 5.1 innings for the Rams. Fordham picked up only three hits in the contest. Duke's Jonathan Foreman recorded the win, giving up two runs on two hits with four strikeouts in seven innings of work.

The Rams were outscored 24-11 by Duke and never picked up more than 11 hits versus the Blue Devils. After two weeks, the Rams stood at 0-6 on the season.

"We played very competitively against Duke," Head Coach Nick Restaino said. "Our pitchers gave us no chance in game two but other than that we were there all the way. The team was just a few plays away from having the games go in the other direction." 

Meanwhile the weather continued wreaking havoc upon the team. Fordham's home opener versus Manhattan on Wednesday, March 3 was postponed due to rain and rescheduled for March 9. Games against NYIT were added to the schedule for March 5 and 6 and the weekend series the Rams originally had scheduled versus George Mason in Virginia was cancelled because of poor field conditions.

The Rams could have been forgiven for putting up a poor performance against the Bears due to the changes but instead reacted as if nothing had happened. Behind some excellent pitching Fordham grinded out its first two wins of the season against NYIT on Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6, 1-0 and 5-2.

Behind superb pitching from Pendergast, Anastasi and sophomore Daniel Munday, the Rams posted a 1-0 shutout win over the Bears at home on March 5, improving to 1-6 overall.

The game was highlighted by the dominance of both staffs. The Rams allowed only one NYIT runner to reach third while only three Fordham runners made it to third on the Bears.

The Rams were able to push across a single run in the 11 inning to win the game. Senior DH Ryan McCrann led off the inning with a single to center before moving to second on a single. A fielder's choice put runners at first and third and sophomore third baseman Ryan Maghini's fly ball to center was deep enough for a sacrifice fly.

Pendergast exhibited his potential in the contest throwing eight innings of two-hit ball with eight strikeouts and no walks.

The Rams improved to 2-6 with a comeback win over NYIT the following afternoon. Fordham fell behind 2-0 by the second inning on two RBI singles. However, they were able to knot the score with single runs in the second and the fifth.

Fordham took the lead with two runs in the sixth, and tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Kownacki led off the sixth with a triple and scored on a fielder's choice by Como. A McCrann RBI single allowed Como to score for a 4-2 lead.

Fordham's hurlers were again very consistent. Krakowiak showed better control and allowed just one earned run with six strikeouts in 5.1 innings in a no-decision. DeMartino and Casalicchio threw 3.2 innings of hitless relief and picked up the win and the save respectively.

"The pitching staff gave us a boost against New York Tech," Walker said. "The offense needed some inspiration gave us a pick me-up and boosted morale. They were great."     

The Ram's pitching allowed only one earned run on the weekend and struck out 19 batters while walking only three Bears.

Fordham played its rescheduled showdown with Manhattan on March 9 and fell to the Jaspers 12-8. Manhattan scored six runs in the second and totaled five more runs in the fourth to take an 11-4 lead. Fordham began a slow rally, adding four runs in the later innings, but eventually took a four-run loss. Both J.P. Mack and Flanagan struggled to maintain a rhythm and allowed five and three earned runs, respectively.

"We haven't been hitting and pitching effectively at the same time," Pendergast said. "The team can't put together a consistent effort and it's hurting us."   

The Rams have only a .311 on-base percentage as a team and their staff's earned run average is 5.50. Fordham looked better against NYIT, but they were a weak opponent playing their opening games of the season.

Just how quickly the Rams can improve will be proven in their play over spring break. After facing Manhattan and NYIT on March 9 and 10, Fordham will play Pittsburgh, Miami and Michigan in Florida during break. 

"I believe we'll rise to the level of competition we're playing in Florida," Restaino said. "It's going to be a trip that helps the team."