HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Tonight's elimination game between the Fordham softball team and top-seeded (#17/17) James Madison has been suspended because of rain. The Rams currently lead the Dukes, 2-0, in the top of the sixth. JMU, who is the away team for this game, has two outs and a runner on first with a 0-1 count on the batter.
The difference in the contest is sophomore Lindsay Mayer's two-run home run to center field in the bottom of the third, with fellow classmate Amy Van Hoven scoring on the big fly. The home run is Mayer's third of the Harrisonburg Regional.
The game will resume Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. The winner takes on North Carolina State in the finals at 12 p.m. If the Wolfpack lose, a second contest will be played to determine the champion 30 minutes after.
FORDHAM 8, BINGHAMTON 0
The Fordham softball team took care of Binghamton Saturday evening, 8-0, in a five-inning victory of an elimination game in the Harrisonburg Regional at Veterans Memorial Park. With the victory, the Rams improve to 37-19 on the season, while the Bearcats' season concludes at 24-21.
Redshirt junior Rachel Gillen (24-8) tossed a two-hit complete-game shutout in the circle while walking one and striking out six. She now has 19 complete games and eight shutouts.
Fordham pounded out 11 hits, with sophomore Lindsay Mayer leading the way with a 3-for-3 effort, as she hit her eight home run of the year, drove in four and scored twice. Sophomore Amy Van Hoven and senior Kayla Lombardo both finished 2-for-2 with a RBI, while Van Hoven and sophomore Sydney Canessa both scored twice as well.
After Gillen allowed a lead-off double to begin the game, the contest went into an 18-minute rain delay. The Rams came back after and got out of a first and second one-out jam with an inning-ending double play.
Fordham scored the only run it would need in the bottom of the first when Mayer blasted her two-run bomb that plated Canessa, who singled to right to start the inning, with one out.
The Rams added two more runs in the bottom of the third to double their advantage to 4-0. Van Hoven hit a ground-rule double to left field to start the frame and scored on Mayer's RBI single to left-center field. Mayer, who went to second on the throw home, moved to third on Gillen's ground ball to first base and scored on Lombardo's RBI sacrifice fly to center field.
Fordham then put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to produce the final score of 8-0. Senior Cora Ianiro worked a one-out walk and advanced to second on fellow classmate Brianna Turgeon's single down the left field line. After everyone was safe on Canessa's fielder's choice to third base that loaded the bases, Van Hoven hit a high chopper off the pitcher's glove that was then kicked into left center field. Ianiro scored the first run, while Turgeon came around when the second baseman committed the kicking error. Mayer continued her hot hitting in the regional by delivering a two-run single up the middle to send home both Canessa and Van Hoven.
Gillen yielded her second hit to start the fifth, but retired the next three batters in order to clinch the victory.
Sarah Miller (11-9) took the loss in the circle after lasting 3.1 innings. She allowed six earned runs on eight hits, walked one and whiffed one.