Leaving on a high note: Quinnipiac wins a 3-2 nailbiter over Fordham

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Connor Gorman

Quinnipiac baseball begins MAAC play on March 24 at Rider.

Ryan Raggio, Staff Writer
March 12, 2023

The Quinnipiac baseball team played the Fordham Rams in the teams’ series finale Sunday, coming out on top in a nail-biting 3-2 victory. This came after Fordham won its first two games of the series, giving the Rams their first series win of the season. 

The tension between both teams was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Through the first three innings, neither team made a mistake, both sides played tight defense. However, neither offenses couldn’t find a hole with the sticks.

Defense had been a struggle all year for Quinnipiac, but today it was a huge turnaround. Junior catcher Keegan O’Connor kept the Fordham baserunners in check as he threw out a runner on a seed to second, ending the third-inning threat. Senior third baseman McGwire Tuffy and junior outfielder Jared Zimbardo both made impressive plays to take away extra bases from the Rams. 

It wasn’t until the fifth inning that the Bobcats’ offense broke through. Quinnipiac redshirt junior first baseman Sean Swenson roped a double down the left field line, scoring the runner from first to give his team a 1-0 lead. 

Quinnipiac senior starting pitcher Kevin Sietter dominated throughout, not allowing a run through five innings pitched. Having Seitter be on top of his game allowed the Bobcats to tack on more run support the following inning. 

With two runners on, senior designated hitter Matt Tesoriero executed a perfect bunt between the pitcher and the third-base line to score the runner from third, making it 2-0. More clutch hitting for Quinnipiac came from freshman outfielder John Heitzman who cranked a double over the right fielder’s head to put his team up three. 

The freshman standout is putting together an impressive campaign so far, holding a .289 batting average with seven RBIs through 13 games. 

Fordham answered back in the bottom half of the sixth with some offense of its own. Seitter got into a jam with two runners on and one out as Fordham freshman catcher Tommy McAndrews doubled to the right-center gap, scoring both runners to make it 3-2. Seitter settled down and got out of his final inning of the afternoon. The Ridgewood, New Jersey, native finished the day pitching six complete innings, allowing two earned runs with three strikeouts. 

The Rams had opened the door for a comeback, but it was slammed shut by Quinnipiac sophomore pitcher Mason Ulsh. The Auburn, Pennsylvania, native came into the game in the seventh inning and retired the side in order, setting the tone for the eighth inning. 

The Quinnipiac offense couldn’t muster anything more after the sixth inning and took a one-run lead into the ninth inning. The Rams were down, but not out as they scraped together a pair of one-out singles. Quinnipiac head coach John Delaney left in his sophomore reliever to finish the inning and Ulsh did not disappoint. He got the next two batters out with his fastball to record the three-inning save.

The win puts Quinnipiac’s five-game losing streak on the shelf as it now moves to 5-8 on the season. It will head back to Connecticut to face the 1-5 Hartford Hawks on the road on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.