Score: VCU 13, Fordham 1
Location: Bronx, N.Y. (Houlihan Park)
Records: VCU 20-14 (10-4), Fordham 14-20 (6-8)
 
VCU baseball secured its fourth A-10 series win in five conference weekends with an all-around performance at Fordham on Saturday afternoon. Despite a slow start, three Rams homered for the second-straight game, Patrick Steitz twirled a gem on the mound and VCU scored seven runs in the ninth inning to soar to a 13-1 win.
 
LEADING OFF:

• Steitz set Division I career bests with 8.0 innings and eight strikeouts, carrying a shutout through eight innings and allowing just five hits to earn his fifth win as a Ram
• VCU's three home runs came from Quinn Maher, Michael Petite and Nate Kirkpatrick
• Five VCU players had two or more hits
• Setting or matching career highs with three hits and four RBI, Petite led VCU's offense, homering for the second-straight game
• Kirkpatrick, Alec Warden, Maher and Trent Adelman all had a pair of base knocks
• Every Ram in VCU's lineup reached base, with six reaching multiple times
• Jacob Lee drew a game-high two walks, extending his reached base streak to 14 contests
• VCU picked up its 20th win of the year and matched its 10 Atlantic 10 victories from Coach Thompson's first season

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• What ended in a 12-run win, began as a pitchers' duel as Steitz and Fordham's Aidan Dowd allowed just four combined hits through the first four innings
• Maher snapped the stalemate in the fifth inning with a two-run shot to right field, driving Alec Warden home after his leadoff single
• VCU scratched two more runs across on back-to-back home runs for Petite and Kirkpatrick, before building a 6-0 lead on a wild pitch and bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning
• Steitz carried his shutout performance through the eighth inning, retiring the final eight batters he faced and concluding his outing with his career-high eighth strikeout
• VCU's offense came alive for a loud finale in the top of the ninth inning to take a 13-0 lead, batting around and scoring seven runs on four hits and three walks
• Fordham scored its lone run in the final frame, but Riley Roarty closed VCU's 13-1 victory to take the series

 
UP NEXT
VCU will conclude the three-game set at Fordham on Saturday, April 12, at 12 p.m. at Houlihan Park, as VCU looks to complete another Atlantic 10 sweep. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.