More often than not, Fordham baseball emerges from the winter preseason and appears to be a hard-knock team. The Rams continued this trend in 2022 on Friday, Feb. 18, when they began the season on the road in a three-game series against Texas A&M University. By Sunday, they were 0-3 after losing the first game 13-0 and dropping two close games thereafter. It was an emphatic sweep by the Aggies.

This isn’t the first time Fordham has played Texas A&M in a season opener, as the two teams also faced off to begin the Rams’ 2019 season. The Aggies swept them that year too. In 2020, Fordham faced off against the Florida International University Panthers. They were outscored 46-9 in three games. 

It seems that whenever the COVID-19 pandemic allows it, Fordham baseball players ship south to kick off their season in impossibly deep waters. Head Coach Kevin Leighton wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I like putting our guys in that type of environment. Playing out at Texas A&M was an awesome experience for our guys,” Leighton said. “Being out there against really good competition is going to test us, it’s going to teach us, and I think that learning from these games will be huge for us.”

Stiff competition for Fordham will continue when the team travels to play Florida Atlantic University this weekend.

For the coach and his players, a tough nonconference schedule is a sort of baptism by fire, and it didn’t get easier in the team’s second weekend series against the Virginia Tech Hokies. In their first game in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Friday, Feb. 25, the Rams were crushed in a 12-0 defeat before dropping the next two games by 8-2 and 7-3 scores, respectively. 

Stiff competition for Fordham will continue when the team travels to play Florida Atlantic University this weekend. Based on a 45-14 thrashing back in September, Fordham’s football team may be able to provide some insight into the athletic acumen on display in Boca Raton. A three-game sweep in one direction is certainly more likely than the other.

But as Leighton pointed out, the competition is more beneficial to the team than the result at this point in the season. Between Fordham’s trips to Texas and Virginia, a single game in the Bronx seems to lend legitimacy to his methods.

It’s clearer now that the 1-6 Rams are more competitive than their record suggests.

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the Rams returned from Texas to take on the Sacred Heart University Pioneers in their home opener. Back at Houlihan Park in the Bronx against a much weaker opponent, Fordham throttled Sacred Heart 19-0. Batters who appeared overwhelmed against the Aggies and Hokies were launching the ball all over the field against the Pioneers. Pitchers who struggled down South operated with effortless command in the lopsided shutout. 

The team traveled to Virginia two days later and lost three more games that weekend, but it’s clearer now that the 1-6 Rams are more competitive than their record suggests. Second baseman Jack Harnisch, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’22, said that games against the likes of Sacred Heart are easier after playing tougher opponents.

“I think we got back from those games over the weekend and played them (Texas A&M) very tough … so I think it gave us an extra sort of confidence,” Harnisch said.

The Rams still have issues to resolve, improvements to make and questions to answer.

To put it simply, Fordham baseball travels for tougher competition because it has worked. In 2020, the team went 1-6 in its first seven games but went on to earn a nine-game winning streak before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the Rams started against Texas A&M and met the Aggies again in June in the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional after winning the Atlantic 10 (A10) Championship.

It’s still unclear whether Fordham is bound for another deep postseason run this year, even with the 2022 A10 Tournament being hosted at Houlihan Park. The Rams still have issues to resolve, improvements to make and questions to answer. The point, however, is that their season does not end here. The road ahead is long.

Moving On From Mikulski

As the season progresses for Fordham baseball, uncertainties surrounding the pitching staff will ultimately determine the team’s staying power in the A10. 

In a 2021 season heavily impacted by COVID-19 protocols, Fordham often had to schedule four-game series to make up for the shortened time frame. Leighton claimed that this strained the pitching staff because he did not build the team to consistently compete in four games per weekend. The schedule is back to normal this year and features exclusively three-game weekend sets, but the team may now have other problems to deal with on the bump.

In 2021, only two pitchers made 10 or more starts for the Rams. Neither player is on their 2022 roster.

Mikulski’s loss creates an inescapable problem for Fordham.

After completing one of the greatest seasons in Fordham history last year, the San Francisco Giants selected ace pitcher Matt Mikulski, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’21, in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft. In his final season with the Rams, he compiled a 9-0 record in 11 appearances, striking out 124 batters while recording a 1.45 ERA.

Mikulski’s loss creates an inescapable problem for Fordham, as they no longer have a clear ace to lean on in big games. Leighton recognized that the loss was a difficult one to recover from, but also pointed out that players can develop quickly in college baseball.

“Matty was a perfect example. His freshman and sophomore year, he was pretty good, but he wasn’t the superstar we knew we had on our pitching staff,” Leighton said. “He developed into that, and that’s what we’re hoping some of these guys will do this year.”

In a more palatable departure, Garrett Crowley accepted an offer to play for Texas Tech University after earning a 5.98 ERA in his third season with the Rams.

With two starting pitchers gone, Fordham does not only have to find a new ace — an entire rotation will have to be assembled. After two weekend series, it appears that Leighton already has some successors in mind. 

Though he hasn’t yet appeared in a game this season, Cory Wall, FCRH ’22, is another pitcher to keep an eye on as the year goes on.

The most obvious player who can step up as Fordham’s top arm this season is Gabe Karslo, GSBRH ’22, who has started for the Rams to open series against both Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. Though he struggled in both outings, allowing nine earned runs in nine and two-third innings, he remains the team’s most seasoned starting pitcher, with eight starts in 11 appearances in 2021.

In addition to Karslo, Brooks Ey, FCRH ’24, and Jack Popolizio, FCRH ’23, have also earned a pair of starts down South. Ey also struggled in both of his starts and has allowed 10 total runs in as many innings of work. Popolizio has fared slightly better, holding Texas A&M to two hits and no runs through five innings in just the second start of his career on Sunday, Feb. 20.

Though he hasn’t yet appeared in a game this season, Cory Wall, FCRH ’22, is another pitcher to keep an eye on as the year goes on. After two promising starts early in 2021, Wall missed the rest of last year with an injury. If coaches still intend on starting him this year, the senior may find a key role in the Rams’ rotation when he eventually returns to action.

In three years, Harnisch has become a consistent starter for the team.

Roles in Fordham’s bullpen this year are even murkier at this point in the season than the starting rotation. Two players, Joseph Quintal, Gabelli Graduate School of Business (GGSB) ’22, and Ben Kovel, GSBRH ’23, should feature prominently throughout the season despite allowing 12 earned runs combined in their first five appearances.

Familiar Faces in the Field

As a first-year player in 2019, Harnisch coincidentally made his first in-game appearance against Texas A&M. In a game that the Rams went on to lose 19-6, the rookie earned his first career hit, a clean single in the ninth inning to drive in Fordham’s third run of the game. He would only appear at the plate in 19 more at-bats that season.

In three years, Harnisch has become a consistent starter for the team and comprises one-half of one of the most experienced middle infields in the A10. Along with shortstop C.J. Vazquez, GGSB ’22, the team will likely build the infield around the two older players. Harnisch and Vazquez hit .263 and .312 in 2021, respectively, and will be mainstays in Fordham’s starting lineup.

In Harnisch’s first year at Fordham, the Rams hosted and won the 2019 A10 Tournament. The second baseman says that he looks forward to defending Houlihan Park again.

In the outfield, the team is similarly blessed with seasoned talent.

“Our goal this year is to just get in and play some tough games in front of our home crowd in the Bronx,” Harnisch said.

After a cold start to the season, Zach Selinger, FCRH ’23, earned his first hit of 2022 on a two-run home run in Fordham’s second game against Virginia Tech. After hitting .293 in his sophomore year, the utility player seems to have found a spot as the team’s third baseman.

In the outfield, the team is similarly blessed with seasoned talent. Center fielder Jake Guercio, GSBRH ’22, and left fielder Jason Coules, FCRH ’22, have been key contributors to the team since their debuts. Both players have only developed since then and enter their senior seasons with more promise than ever.

Among a large ensemble of first-years, Leighton and Harnisch both identified the same pair as especially promising early in the year: Ryan Meyer, GSBRH ’25, and Sebastian Mexico, FCRH ’25. In the Rams’ final game against Texas A&M on Feb. 20, the two rookies nearly defeated the Aggies with two key hits.

The game still allowed the younger players to earn the respect of their teammates and coaches.

In the top of the fifth, Meyer’s first career hit was a single that drove in a run and gave Fordham a 1-0 lead. Then, in the seventh, Mexico hit a double with the bases loaded to drive in three more. 

With the help of five scoreless innings from Popolizio on the mound, the Rams led 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth. Although Quintal allowed two more runs in relief and blew the save, the game still allowed the younger players to earn the respect of their teammates and coaches.

“Ryan Meyer stepped in, started Saturday and Sunday at Texas A&M and was battling in the heat of the competition with everyone else, and I think he handled it very well,” Harnisch said. “Then on Sunday, Sebastian Mexico had the big hit that could have been the game-winning hit … and that was a hell of a way to start off his college career.”

Heading for Home

Fordham has been long on promise and short on luck since winning the A10 Tournament in 2019. In 2020, the team was on a seemingly untouchable nine-game winning streak before conference play. In 2021, the Rams were excluded from an abridged four-team championship format after a year that normally would have earned them a postseason.

Players and coaches alike are prepared to move on in a world that feels familiar and different at the same time.

As Fordham prepares for its first relatively normal season since the pandemic began, players and coaches alike are prepared to move on in a world that feels familiar and different at the same time. 

“Being on the road and being together as a group brings everyone together, and we didn’t really get that experience last year,” Leighton said.

Understanding Fordham’s potential at this point in the season is a futile exercise for a number of reasons. Players have not yet had enough time to truly demonstrate long-lasting ability, and results in April and May will be determined by a number of variables related to player improvement and development.

Only a few things are certain. The Rams entered the 2022 season without a surefire MLB-caliber talent on the roster. Opponents south of the Mason-Dixon line have already outscored them 50-13 in six games, and they haven’t even been to Florida yet. But the team also has experience to spare and a home field to defend, and the bitter New York winter will eventually give way to spring. In the Bronx, it might just be a whole different ball game.