By ANTHONY PUCIK
The softball team’s strong play at the Chanticleer Showdown helped it get back to a .500 record. The Rams are now 15-15. (DREW DIPANE/THE RAM)
Fordham had a great two weeks of softball, winning five of the six games., including two Atlantic 10 conference games. The Rams now have a 15-15 record, 2-0 in the A-10.
The Rams put on a great show at the Chanticleer Showdown on March 15, winning both of their games. In its first game against the Troy University Trojans, Fordham put four runs across in the bottom of the first inning off Trojan starter Sarah Mock.
Amy Van Hoven started things off with an RBI single, then scored on an error. Briana Turgeon’s two-run home run added two more and gave the Rams a 4-0 lead. Fordham picked up two more runs in the bottom of the second on a two-run home run by Sydney Canessa to make it 6-0. Troy cut the lead to 6-1 on a Kacie McAllister single of Fordham starter Michelle Daubman, but that was all the Rams’ ace would surrender. Two solo home runs, one by Elise Fortier and another by Gabby Luety, and an RBI double by Cora Ianiro gave the Rams a 9-1 lead. Daubman pitched a five-inning, five-hit, one-run complete game to earn the victory.
The Rams’ second game against the Georgia State Panthers ended up being a pitcher’s duel between Fordham’s Lauren Quense and Georgia State’s Kaitlyn Medlam. The Panthers scored in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Megan Litumbe off Quense. Fordham would respond with a sacrifice fly by Fortier in the top of the third off Medlam, and that would be all of the scoring through seven innings.
In the top of the eighth, Fordham broke through with four runs off a Canessa RBI single, an RBI double by Fortier and a Kayla Lombardo two-run home run. Quense would not surrender a run in the bottom of the eighth, pitching the one-run, eight-hit complete game, as Fordham picked up the 5-1 victory.
The last two games of the Chanticleer Showdown were cancelled, but Fordham would continue its road trip with a double header against the University of Virginia Cavaliers on March 20.
In the first game, the Cavaliers picked up four runs in the bottom of the second on a fielder’s choice, a Marcy Bowdren RBI single and a two-RBI triple by Heidi Velk off Daubman to go up 4-0. A Paige Ortiz home run brought the Rams back to within three in the top of the third, but Virginia scored four in the bottom of the inning on RBI doubles by Katie Park, Iyana Hughes and Velk and a sacrifice fly by Bowdren to bring the lead to 8-1.
The Rams made it 8-2 in the top of the fifth on a passed ball that scored Canessa, but the Cavaliers added another run on a Hughes RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. The Cavaliers won 9-2.
The second game was much kinder to the Rams. Fordham got its offense going early, with three runs in the top of the first on a three-run home run by Fortier and a Van Hoven RBI double in the top of the second, which put them up 4-0. Virginia cut the lead to two in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Lindsay Mayer and a Park RBI single, but the Rams scored four more runs in the top of the fourth on a grand slam by Ortiz. The long ball and solid pitching helped the Rams split their double header with the Cavaliers, winning the second game, 8-2.
Fordham remained on the road once again this weekend to open up Atlantic-10 Conference play against the George Washington Colonials in a double header on March 22. In the first game, Fordham scored two runs in the top of the third on Fortier and Luety RBI doubles to go up 2-0 off Colonials’ starter Meghan Rico.
That was all the run support Daubman would need. She pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout as Fordham took the first game of the double header, 2-0. The second game went even better for the Rams. Fordham scored three in the top of the second on an Ianiro RBI single and Canessa two-RBI single to go up 3-0. The Rams would add two more in the top of the third on a Daubman RBI walk and an RBI single by Turgeon to make it a 5-0 lead. George Washington cut into the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run homerun by Morgan Matetic off Quense, giving Fordham a 5-2 lead. But Fordham responded in the top of the fifth with two runs on a Canessa RBI single and a wild pitch that scored Ortiz, bringing the lead back to five at 7-2. Fordham scored three more runs in the top of the sixth on a Daubman three-run home run, as the Rams swept the double header in George Washington with a 10-2 victory in the second game.
Fordham got off on the right foot, winning its first two games in A-10 play, but this does not come as a surprise. Veteran players like Daubman know their teammates’ abilities, and have high hopes for the season.
“I am confident that this team has the ability and perseverance necessary to win a championship,” Daubman said. “We will continue to work hard toward this goal every day.”
The Rams have also won seven of their last 10 out-of-conference games. Their home opener against St. John’s on March 26 has unfortunately been canceled, so Fordham will have to wait a bit longer to play in front of its home fans. The Rams’ next two games will be on Saturday, March 29 on the road against St. Joseph’s in a double header.
Anthony Pucik is Assistant Sports Editor at The Fordham Ram.
