Cary, N.C. – (February 23, 2025) – Northwestern's Bennett Markinson combined to hit three home runs and drove in seven runs to lead the Wildcats to a doubleheader sweep of the Fordham Rams on Sunday by scores of 2-1 in seven innings and 9-3 in nine innings at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
Game one started with a bang in the first, as Northwestern's Bennett Markinson hit a two-run home run to left, his first of the season, for a 2-0 edge.
Fordham quickly cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame.
Taylor Kirk singled with one out and moved to second when
Reid Lapekas was hit by a pitch.
Madden Ocko followed with an RBI-single to right to score Kirk.
That was all the offense in the game as it turned into a pitcher's duel between Fordham's
Mike Rabayda and Northwestern's Garrett Shearer.
Rabayda (0-2) was solid for the Rams, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings with nine strikeouts, while Shearer went the distance, giving up one run on four hits with six strikeouts.
Chase Hanawalt pitched the final inning for Fordham, giving up one hit with one strikeout.
At the plate,
Andrew Kanellis and
Daniel Bucciero had the other hits for Fordham, aside from Kirk and Ocko's in the first inning.
In game two, the Rams got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Kanellis led off with a single to right and moved to second on a groundout.
Carson Chavez then doubled down the right field line to score Kanellis. After a sacrifice,
Jack Brennan singled through the right side to plate Chavez.
The score stayed that way until the fourth, when Markinson hit his second two-run home run of the day to tie the game at two.
In the fifth, the Wildcats took the lead on an RBI-single by Tyler Ganus and added to it with a three-run home run by Markinson, making it a 6-2 ballgame.
Fordham got a run back in the sixth on
Tommy Markey's RBI-single, which scored
Anthony Grabau, who reached on a double.
The Wildcats responded with two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth for the 9-3 final.
For Fordham,
Matt Dieguez had a pair of hits, while Chavez, Markey, and Brennan each had a hit and an RBI.
Connor Haywood (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits. Starter
A.J. Pino went the first 3.2 innings, giving up two runs with five strikeouts.
The Rams will next be in action on Wednesday, February 26
th, when they host Iona for a 3:00 PM game. This is a re-scheduled game from February 19
th.
