Old Dominion Sweeps Fordham to Start Baseball Season

The Fordham baseball team experienced a disappointing first weekend to the 2010 season, getting swept on the road in a three-game series on the road at the hands of Old Dominion. The Rams lost by scores of 8-2, 7-5 and 11-5 in Virginia as their pitching staff struggled and the offense was at times both potent and silent.

“We didn’t play well this weekend by any stretch,” Head Coach Nick Restaino said. “It’s a shame because all three games were more than winnable.”   

Fordham opened the series and the season on Feb. 19 with an 8-2 loss. The Rams got on the board in the top of the second inning. Senior centerfielder Mike Mobbs led off with an infield single before scoring on an RBI single from sophomore second baseman Nick Martinez.

The Monarchs answered right back in the second. Old Dominion loaded the bases on a walk, hit by pitch and an infield single before second baseman Chris Buss connected for a two-run single.

The Rams were able to close to within 5-2 in the fifth, as sophomore shortstop Brian Kownacki had a leadoff double and senior rightfielder P.J. Como followed with a single up the middle to score him.

Old Dominion put the game away in the seventh, scoring three runs off of freshman Joseph Charest and sophomore Jordan Grangard on just one hit to take an 8-2 lead. The Monarchs scored on a sacrifice fly and two bases-loaded walks.

Junior pitcher John Flanagan (0-1) had a rough day in his debut outing, allowing five runs on six hits in five innings of work.

The Fordham offense struggled at the plate as they recorded only eight hits while striking out 10 times and leaving 11 on base.

“We couldn’t get a key two outhit in this game or at almost any point in this series,” Restaino said. “There’s a lot of room for improvement there.”

After struggling with its pitching on Friday, it was the Rams’ defense that did them in during their 7-5 loss to Old Dominion on Saturday. Fordham committed five errors and allowed five unearned runs.

The beginning of the game was strikingly similar to the previous day’s game. The Rams scored two in the first inning. Kownacki hit a single before Como ripped a double to right to score Kownacki. Junior designated hitter Chris Walker followed with an RBI single.

As soon as things started looking good for the Rams, they began playing hot potato with the baseball. The Monarchs scored five unearned runs off junior starter Max Krakowiak in the third and fourth innings to take a 5-2 lead. Old Dominion scored their three runs on an error by sophomore leftfielder Stephen McSherry, a hit by pitch and an infield single. In the fourth, Hartman connected for a two-run single with two outs.

The Rams scored two runs to pull to within one in the fifth inning. Senior catcher Angelo Ponte started the inning by reaching on an error before Fordham collected consecutive RBI singles from Martinez and Walker.

Fordham freshman reliever Rich Anastasi posted three much-needed scoreless innings of relief, but his luck ran out in the eighth. Corsner doubled to center to score Buss for a 6-4 lead, and, after two pitching changes, the Monarchs added a sacrifice fly to take three-run lead.

The Rams managed to get the tying run to the plate in the ninth. Como scored on a balk by reliever Cory Toth, but then he induced a Mobbs and Alex Kenny ground out to end the game.

On the mound, Krakowiak (0-1) took the loss. He permitted only two hits but gave up five unearned runs and four walks in only 3.2 innings.

Ben Tomchick (1-0) allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings of work but was still able to grab the win.

Fordham’s offense again struggled to drive in runs. Despite 12 hits, the team left 11 men on base. Walker was the standout for the Rams in the game, collecting a career-high four hits and driving in two.

If the first two games of the series were tough for the Rams, it was nothing compared to their 11-5 defeat on Sunday. Fordham raced out to a 5-2 lead before the Monarchs scored nine unanswered runs.

The Rams lead 3-0 after two innings of play. Walker continued his hot-hitting in the first with an RBI single to score Martinez. Kownacki smacked a two-run single in the second to score Mobbs and McSherry.

After Old Dominion narrowed their gap to 3-2 in the fourth on a home run and RBI double, Fordham came right back with two runs of their own in the top of the fifth to lead 5-2. A single by Martinez and a walk to P.J. Como led to Walker’s second and third RBI on a single up the middle.

Old Dominion exploded with four runs to take a 7-5 advantage. Hartman cracked a two-run double with two outs to tie the game and was followed by Vellegia with a two-run homer to left.

The game got away from the Rams in the eight. Five walks, a hit batsman, two wild pitches and an error capped the 11-5 loss.

Ram pitchers had their worst game of the weekend. Transfer junior Brian Pendergrast, in his Fordham debut, managed to allow only three runs in five innings of work. His relievers Munday and Stone allowed six runs and five walks in only 2.2 innings of work.

After starter C.J. Huyet struggled, Brandon Smith (1-0) took over as a reliever and completely changed the momentum of the game for Old Dominion. Smith pitched five innings while allowing the Rams only three hits.

The Fordham offense was mostly silenced after its big start and ended up with only eight hits. Walker continued his red-hot start to the season with three RBI.

“The pitching staff was definitely inconsistent this weekend,” Pendergast said. “But we win and lose as a team.”

After their sweep, the Rams face off against Duke in a road series this weekend starting on Feb. 26. The Rams will likely again be the underdog against the Blue Devils and need to find some more consistency on the field. But the players are confident they are already improving.

“We’re getting better each day,” said Mobbs. “This is a good team and we’re on course to have success.”