Fordham visits St. Bonaventure in series finale

KNAPP CREEK, N.Y. (Interstat) — The Fordham Rams (24-30) face the Saint Bonaventure Bonnies (13-35) on Saturday afternoon at Fred Handler Park in the rubber match of their Atlantic 10 series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. under cloudy skies with a temperature of 58 degrees.

Fordham (24-30) won the opener 21-2 on Friday after dropping the series opener 8-5 on Thursday. The Rams have lost seven of their last 10 games overall, including a 7-6 defeat to Saint Louis on May 10 and a 5-1 loss at Rhode Island on May 3.

Right-hander Aidan Dowd is scheduled to start for Fordham. In his most recent outing Friday against the Bonnies, he tossed six scoreless innings, allowing no hits and two earned runs while striking out two. Dowd also threw six shutout innings in a 10-3 win at La Salle on April 18. Over his last five starts, he has a 2.84 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings.

Saint Bonaventure (13-35) has lost eight of its past nine games. The Bonnies’ only win in that stretch came Thursday against Fordham. They were swept at Saint Joseph’s from May 1-3 and lost three of four at La Salle the weekend of May 8-10.

Third baseman Manuel Castro leads the Bonnies at the plate. In Friday’s loss, Castro went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. He also had four hits in five at-bats with an RBI in Thursday’s win. Over his past 10 games, Castro is batting .333 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

In the series so far, Fordham’s offense has been potent. Friday’s 21-run outburst was fueled by left fielder-center fielder Mason Dean, who went 4-for-6 with a home run and four RBIs, and catcher Tommy McAndrews, who drove in three runs on four hits. The Rams scored five runs in the fourth inning and seven in the sixth to blow open the game.

The Bonnies’ pitching staff has struggled, allowing 29 runs in the two games. In Friday’s loss, reliever Gilbert Saunders pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and no earned runs, but the damage was done early.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 3-1 Fordham victory, with the Rams given a 62.4 percent probability of winning according to the ELO system.

The game is the final regular-season meeting between the two teams this season. Fordham enters the day ninth in the Atlantic 10 standings, while Saint Bonaventure is 12th. The conference tournament begins May 20.