The softball team closes out the regular season this weekend at George Mason. Drew DiPane/ The Fordham Ram
By Anthony Pucik
The Fordham softball team went into this week with a 25-17 record and an 11-5 record in Atlantic 10 play. The team took a break from A-10 matchups in the middle of the week when it hit the road to battle the Hofstra University Pride on April 22.
Redshirt junior Rachel Gillen gave Fordham the early lead with an RBI single in the top of the first, but Hofstra quickly tied the game in the bottom of the inning off Rams’ senior starter Michele Daubman when they scored on an error to make it 1-1 after one inning. After that, it was all Hofstra. The Pride scored five runs in the bottom of the third and one more in the fourth to take a 7-1 advantage. The game was called after the fifth inning due to thunderstorms, ending Fordham’s three-game winning streak. Daubman suffered the loss for the Rams, dropping her to 6-8 on the year, while Pride starter Morgan Lashley earned her 16th win (16-1).
The Rams returned home for an A-10 weekend series with the George Washington Colonials that started with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 25. In the first game, an RBI single by senior Kayla Lombardo and a sacrifice fly by redshirt junior Rachel Gillen gave Fordham an early 2-0 advantage. The Rams tacked another run on in the bottom of the third when Gillen picked up her second sacrifice fly on the afternoon to make it 3-0. In the fifth, Fordham broke the game open with two three-run homeruns, one by senior Paige Ortiz and the other by sophomore Sydney Canessa, giving Fordham the 9-0 victory in five innings. Gillen picked up her 18th victory of the season (18-8) while Costlow earned the loss (14-17).
In the second game, the offense came alive early for the Rams again, with a 3-RBI single by Gillen in the first inning to take an early 3-0 lead. Fordham tacked on another run in the second on a fielder’s choice, but George Washington cut the lead in half in the top of the third on an RBI single and a throwing error that scored another run, making it 4-2 Rams. Fordham responded in the bottom of the inning with a two-RBI single by Canessa and an RBI single by sophomore Amy Van Hoven to go up 7-2. The Colonials broke through in the top off the fourth with a solo homerun off Daubman, but Daubman responded in the bottom of the inning with a homer of her own, a two run shot to give Fordham a 9-3 advantage. The Rams were once again able to close out the game early in the bottom of the fifth with a 2-RBI double by Lombardo that made it 11-3 Fordham, forcing the run rule to come into play. Daubman improved her record to 7-8 while Paige Kovalsky lost her third game of the season for George Washington (8-3).
In the final game of the series on Sunday, April 26, Canessa’s solo home run in the bottom of the first got the Rams the early lead once again. Fordham added two more runs in the second on a RBI walk for Canessa and a sacrifice fly by Van Hoven. A Mayer RBI double in the fourth made it 4-0 Rams. Gillen pitched well once again for Fordham, surrendering only one run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Megan Linn. Ianiro responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single, as Fordham took the game and completed the sweep, 5-1. Gillen grabbed her 19th victory of the season (19-8) while Kovalsky suffered another loss for the Colonials (8-4).
With their sweep the Rams find themselves a half game out of second place in the Atlantic 10, which would earn them a bye in the tournament. And with only one series remaining against George Mason this upcoming weekend, Fordham will need some help from other teams in order to take the second spot away from the St. Louis Billikens. Before, though, Fordham plays one final game at Bahoshy Field in the regular season against the St. John’s University Red Storm at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29.
