Box Score Feb. 23, 2012
Final Stats
Cathedral City, Calif. -
After traveling across the country the day before to participate in the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs California, Fordham was supposed to open up with the undercard on Thursday, before facing the big guns over the weekend, but instead the Rams fell to UC-Davis, 6-2, and Long Beach State, 12-6,to fall to 2-4 on the season.
Game One
Jen Mineau was in the circle for the Rams looking for her third win of the season. She ran into trouble immediately by walking the leadoff batter, Cassandra Ginnis. Megan Guzman followed with a single up the middle and then she and Ginnis advanced a base on a Kelly Schultze sacrifice bunt. Rachel Miller then put the Aggies up 2-0 with a base hit to center. Mineau walked the next two batters to load the bases before getting Heather Zimmerman chasing a third strike and Amy Nunez looking to escape the bases loaded jam.
The Fordham bats responded in their half of the inning as Nicole Callahan ripped a line drive the opposite way for a single. Two batters later, Paige Ortiz and Gabby Luety walked to load the bases with two out. But Briana Turgeon struck out looking and Fordham was denied in the first.
The Rams defense came alive in the second inning after Kyle Fan singled through the left side. Fan was forced at second when Ginnis ripped a grounder to short, and the Rams retired the side when Schultze grounded to Fortier who stepped on the bag and tossed to Jamie LaBovick to turn the double play.
UC Davis extended its lead in the third. Miller led off the frame with a four pitch walk and three batters later, Zimmerman connected on a home run to dead center to make the score 4-0 Aggies.
Fordham got on the board in the bottom of the frame when LaBovick ripped a solo home run over the wall in left. Callahan followed her with a double to the gap in right-center and Aggies' starter Jessica Thweatt was replaced with Justine Vela.
Vela began her tenure by striking out Fortier for the first out and getting Ortiz on a comebacker that moved Callahan to third. With two outs, Luety sent a little flare into right field for a bloop single and RBI as Callahan scored to make it 4-2.
Davis put the game away in the sixth. Once again, Fan drew a leadoff walk. Allison Smith ran for her and promptly stole second. Smith would then score on a Guzman double down the third base line. Guzman followed Smith home when Schultze ripped a double over Jessica Crowley's head in center to make it 6-2 Aggies.
Fordham went in order in the sixth and seventh and UC Davis had the victory.
Callahan had two hits and a run scored for the Rams.
Game Two
The Rams sent Michelle Daubman to the circle looking for redemption against Long Beach State in the second game but again ran into trouble early.
In the first, Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi bunted back to Daubman and beat the throw. Shayna Kimbrough also bunted back to the box and Daubman had trouble fielding the ball to put runners on first and second. Hannah De Gaetano followed with the third bunt of the frame with the runners moving up a base on the sacrifice. Clean-up hitter Nelani St. Germain then gave the 49ers a 2-0 lead with a ground rule double.
In Fordham's half of the first, Callahan continued her torrid hitting with a single over the shortstop into left. Two batters later, Luety walked and with Callahan on second, Ortiz connected on a bloop single into center to get Fordham on the board, 2-1. Kayla Lombardo then walked to load the bases for Chelsea Palumbo but the Long Beach shortstop made a diving catch on her liner to preserve the 2-1 Long Beach State lead.
Alisha Rosen led off the 49er's second with a hard grounder into left for a single. She stole second and moved to third on a Cya Neal single with Neal advancing to second on the play. With runners on second and third, Tupua-Tautalatasi ripped a grounder to short and Palumbo threw home, but Rosen beat the throw to the plate and the 49ers had a 3-1 lead. The next batter, Shayna Kimbrough, put down a sacrifice bunt, but Fortier couldn't handle it and the bases were loaded with one out. But Daubman got De Gaetano to pop up and retired St. Germain on a comebacker to end the threat.
Lindsey Kay Bright got a one-single in the bottom of the second with a slapper in the infield. LaBovick followed with a walk and the Rams were in business with Callahan coming to bat. Callahan pulled a single to left to load the bases for Fortier who worked an RBI walk that scored Bright and pulls Fordham to within one, 3-2. Luety then knotted the game at three with an RBI ground out to third that plated LaBovick.
Long Beach State regained the lead in the top of the third as they loaded the bases on three singles to open the frame. Tupua-Tautalatasi came through for the 49ers once again as she cleared the bases with a double, but she got caught in a rundown trying to stretch it into a triple and the side was retired.
Long Beach State scored three more times in the fourth as Ashlynn Booker connected on a two-run home run that Bright nearly caught, which was followed by a Dana Garcia solo shot that Bright also took a stab at near the wall.
Fordham had an answer in the fifth as LaBovick ripped a one-out single to left and Callahan followed with her third hit of the game. Both runners scored on a two-run double from Fortier.
Long Beach State scored twice more in the sixth and Fordham got an unearned run in the seventh as the 49ers won 12-6.
Fordham will now face #1/3 California on Friday at 6:00 PM in day two action of the Cathedral City Classic.
