The Fordham softball team swept the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) Amherst Minutewomen in four games last weekend. The Rams outscored their opponent 33-8 over the course of the weekend, and in the final game on Sunday, May 2, Devon Miller, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’23, threw her third no-hitter of the season.

With four more victories against another Atlantic 10 (A10) rival, Fordham improved its record to 35-5 overall and 16-0 within the conference. The team has defeated UMass and La Salle in two series each and is the last A10 competitor with an undefeated record. In 16 games, the Rams have outscored conference rivals 125-16.

Most of the Rams’ first game on Friday, April 30, against the Minutewomen was par for the course. The team scored three runs in the first, one in the second and three in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead. On the mound, Madie Aughinbaugh, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences ’22, wasn’t in total control but worked through several jams early to keep UMass scoreless.

With a three-run lead in the top of the seventh, Aughinbaugh returned to the mound. Many lesser pitchers would have exited after allowing a five-run rally, but the Fordham captain emerged for one more frame.

In the top of the sixth, though, the Minutewomen surged once more, and for the first time all season, Aughinbaugh struggled to keep her opponent’s offense at bay. UMass scored five runs on six hits and two errors to bring the game within two runs. 

Fordham was suddenly in a close game, but the team responded well in the bottom of the inning. With a runner on first, Sarah Taffet, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’22, doubled to drive in Fordham’s eighth run of the game. 

With a three-run lead in the top of the seventh, Aughinbaugh returned to the mound. Many lesser pitchers would have exited after allowing a five-run rally, but the Fordham captain emerged for one more frame. She allowed two more hits but closed out the game without further incident, securing an 8-5 victory to begin the Rams’ weekend.

On Saturday, May 1, the teams played in a doubleheader, and the first game of the day swung in Fordham’s favor immediately. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the first, Rachel Hubertus, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’22, hit a three-home run to put the Rams ahead early. 

The team never relinquished the lead after that early assault, scoring four runs in the second, one in the third and two in the fifth on a home run by Aughinbaugh. In her first start of the weekend, Miller allowed one unearned run but only two hits while striking out 11 batters. Fordham won the game 11-1 by mercy rule after five innings, but the best was yet to come for the first-year pitcher.

The second game on Saturday was closer than the first, but Fordham stayed in contention throughout and gradually took control. After two scoreless innings, the Minutewomen converted on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead, but the Rams retaliated immediately, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning and three more in the third. Pitcher Anne Marie Prentiss, FCRH ’21, allowed a run in the seventh but did more than enough to maintain her perfect record on the season. She advanced to 6-0 as a starter while the Rams cruised to a 5-2 victory.

The talent on display for the Fordham softball team this season has been overwhelming in A10 conference play, and this series is yet another example.

The final game on Sunday will be remembered for Miller’s lights-out pitching performance, but before the drama of the no-hitter could set in, Fordham batters put the game far out of reach early. In the first two innings, Hubertus, Julia Martine, GSBRH ’22, and Bella Ayala, FCRH ’24, all hit three-run home runs to give Fordham nine early runs and a 10-0 lead by the end of the third. Following such a powerful offensive beginning, Miller simply had to keep the Minutewomen in check at the plate and secure another Fordham sweep. Instead, she dominated.

The first-year phenom worked through the first two innings with condescending ease, striking out four of her first six batters. In the third, she allowed two walks but worked her way out of the jam with a strikeout and ground ball to end the inning. 

The pair of walks kept Miller from perfection, but she had escaped the third without allowing a hit. In the fourth inning, she only needed nine pitches to retire the side, and in the fifth, the Minutewomen’s final base runner of the game reached first on a hit-by-pitch. Miller responded with three straight strikeouts to put away UMass in her third no-hitter of the season.

The talent on display for the Fordham softball team this season has been overwhelming in A10 conference play, and this series is yet another example.

In her second year with the team, Miller has somehow provided an equally fierce arm to match Prentiss and Aughinbaugh, the latter of whom continues to lead the team on the mound and at the plate. Power hitters like Hubertus, Martine and Ayala provide little reprieve for opposing pitchers, and in conference play, the mercy rule has come into effect in eight out of 16 games. The A10 Tournament draws nearer every weekend, but it seems like the Rams are supremely prepared for the approaching task at hand.