The Fordham softball team beat the University of Dayton (DAY) Flyers in one of their three games this past weekend, bringing the Rams’ record to 19-21-1 for the season and 9-6 in the Atlantic 10 (A10) Conference. Prior to the two losses, Fordham had won seven consecutive games to jumpstart its season.
The series, which began with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13 at Bahoshy Field at Rose Hill, was off to a good start for the Rams. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a grand slam from leadoff hitter Bailey Enoch, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’24. By the end of the series, Enoch held a batting average of .307 and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .983, both second on the team only to Sydney Wells, FCRH ’25.
Fordham would not relinquish its lead, adding two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the first game in dominant fashion, 6-0. Devon Miller, Gabelli Graduate School of Business ’24, the ace of the Rams’ rotation, shut down the Flyers, pitching a complete game with six strikeouts to power Fordham to its win.
The second game of the weekend took on a different tone. Both teams struggled to push runners across the plate in the early innings, as the Dayton pitching duo of Sarah Bailitz, DAY ’24, and Izzy Kemp, DAY ’26, as well as Fordham’s Holly Beeman, FCRH ’26, excelled on the mound.
The only blemish on Beeman’s record came in the fourth inning, when the Flyers drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and a flurry of singles. Those runs would be enough for Dayton to secure victory, as Fordham only mustered three hits and fell by a score of 2-0.
This past Sunday, the two teams returned for the rubber match of the series. With Miller back on the mound, the Flyers pounced. Dayton scored once in the second, twice in the third, and once in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead by the fifth inning.
Beeman relieved Miller in the fourth inning, but the change could not slow down the Flyers who tacked on another run in the top of the sixth. Bailitz and Kemp shone once again for Dayton, shutting out the Rams in a combined pitching effort.
Ultimately, the visitors emerged with a 5-0 victory and took the final game of the series. It was a tough weekend for Wells, Fordham’s top hitter. She uncharacteristically finished with two hits in eight at bats and no runs batted in. The cold streak should not last for long, however, as her 11 home runs and 44 runs batted in lead the A10.
The Rams will be back in action today. They take on the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks in a midweek doubleheader at Bahoshy Field before hitting the road to play St. Bonaventure University this coming weekend. Fordham will look to recapture the spark that recently fueled them to seven straight wins as the conference schedule marches on.
