In the final game of a five-game homestand at Houlihan Park on Wednesday, April 24, the Fordham baseball team fell to the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Knights, losing 6-4.
The Rams entered the day in the midst of a 3-1 homestand, most recently taking two wins against the Saint Louis University (SLU) Billikens over the weekend. The successful run brought the Rams’ season record to 16-22, but on Wednesday, Fordham struggled to carry over its momentum.
In the Sunday game against Saint Louis, Daniel Bucciero, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’26, started the scoring with a lead-off home run and finished the day with a walk-off long ball. Those bookend homers made Bucciero the team leader in home runs this season with six blasts. Bucciero surpassed Steve Lutazzi, Gabelli Graduate School of Business (GGSB) ’24, who has four home runs.
On Wednesday, the Rams immediately fell behind to Fairleigh Dickinson. Rams starting pitcher Brixton Lofgren, GSBRH ’27, threw a wild pitch with runners on the corners, allowing Luke Russo, FDU ’26, to score from third. This early start proved that the Rams had a tough fight ahead of them. FDU’s strong suit is their ability to steal bases as they rank No. 6 in the nation in stolen bags.
Bucciero, as the Rams’ first at-bat, hit a single but was caught stealing second base. Knights’ pitcher Nicholas Feretic, FDU ’24, arguably pitched the best outing of his career at Houlihan Park, with nine strikeouts. His first-inning performance was a tell-tale sign of what was to come for Feretic in the matchup, as he was able to hold off the rest of the Rams’ batters. Feretic has pitched 26 innings for the Knights this season and accumulated a lackluster 8.31 earned runs average.
In the third inning, Fairleigh Dickinson rallied to put five more runs on the board. The Rams’ veteran lefty pitcher, Trey Maeker, GSBRH ’24, struck out only one of the Knights’ batters. Hunter D’Amato, FDU ’24, team leader in home runs with 14 in his four-season career at FDU and a batting average of .337, stole home plate and was called out when the Rams’ catcher Diego Prieto, GSBRH ’25, slid to tag the Knight. The call was overturned shortly after when it was determined that Prieto failed to make the tag. According to the ESPN broadcast, this play was the first-ever overturned call at Houlihan Park, thanks to the new instant replay system.
Both teams made several changes in the ensuing innings, but the 6-1 score remained the same.
Maeker pitched two more runs before he was pulled from the game, with relief pitcher Dominic Cunha, GGSB ’24, entering in the third inning. At this point, Ben Avila, FDU graduate student ’24, hit two runs batted in (RBI) singles to solidify the visitor’s lead, increasing FDU’s edge to 6-0.
Both teams managed to hold off their opponents up until the bottom of the fifth inning. With Fordham runners on the corners and two outs, the Rams’ Ryan Thiesse, GSBRH ’24, scored off the bat of Cian Sahler, GSBRH ’25, to put the Rams’ first on the board. Sahler, with a batting average of .310, extended his hit streak this season to 16 games. The Fordham record for longest hit streak is 21 games shared by Robert DiVincenzo, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’77, and Ray Montgomery, FCRH ’91.
Both teams made several changes in the ensuing innings, but the 6-1 score remained the same.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Rams finally found the offensive mojo that they had lacked all game, but it was too little too late. With Jason Diaz, FDU ’24, on the mound, Chavez hit a single and stole second. Bucciero and Thiesse both walked, then with bases loaded and no outs, the Knights inserted reliever Joey Kosowsky, FDU ’24, to replace Diaz. Fordham’s Andrew Kanellis, GGSB ’24, picked up two RBIs with a single as Chavez and Bucciero crossed home plate. Sahler hit an RBI single to continue the rally, as Thiesse scored once again. In the end, the Rams weren’t able to overcome the deficit and the game ended with FDU winning 6-4.
The Rams couldn’t get their offense going until the final inning and their season record dropped to 16-23, although the team has a strong 10-5 record at home. FDU’s record improves to 15-23 as the Knights continue their push in the Northeast Conference.
Next, the Fordham Rams hit the road to the University of Rhode Island (URI) Rams April 26 weekend in Kingston, Rhode Island. They picked up two games in the three-game series at URI’s Bill Beck Field. The Rams’ record improves to 18-24 as they look to solidify their seeding for the upcoming Atlantic 10 Championship tournament beginning May 21.
