Richmond baseball loses two games, wins one against Fordham

The Richmond baseball team played conference opponent Fordham last weekend in an away series that yielded mixed results.

The Spiders played a game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. After losing to the Rams in a defensive battle on Friday, Richmond lost the first game of the doubleheader as well, but then won the second. Winning the game in the finale of the series ended a losing streak that had lasted for seven games.

During Friday's game, Richmond sophomore pitcher Keenan Bartlett gave one of the best performances of his career, giving up only one hit and one unearned run during seven innings on the mound. Freshman closer Caleb Ward only gave up one hit to keep the Rams at two hits for the whole game.

“Keenan was great tonight," coach Tracy Woodson said to SpiderTV after the game. "He gave us everything we needed and gave us a chance to win the game, but, unfortunately, we weren’t able to get it done.”

The Spiders had only five hits in the game, none of which produced runs. Fordham's starting pitcher Kirk Haynes Jr. threw his 30th consecutive scoreless inning to tie the school record. He threw for four of the five hits but kept the Spiders off the board to maintain the win. The final score was 1-0, with Fordham taking the win.

In the first contest of the doubleheader, the lead went back and forth until Fordham scored five unanswered runs during the seventh and eighth innings.

Junior designated hitter Kurtis Brown led the Spiders on offense with three hits, including an RBI, during the fifth inning. Sophomore catcher Kyle Adams also had a strong performance with two hits and two runs during the game, but Richmond still lost the second game, 7-3.

The Spiders rallied for the win in the eighth inning of the weekend's final game of the series. After scoring two runs in the first inning, Richmond held the lead through to the fourth inning, when the Rams scored three runs and then scored two more in the sixth.

Freshman D.J. Lee tied the game in the eighth with a triple that scored two runs. Lee then scored the next run for the Spiders to take back the lead, which they were able to maintain through the end of the game.

Senior Doug Kraeger, sophomore Daniel Brumbaugh and Brown each had two hits in the game. Brumbaugh scored twice for the Spiders and only let up two runs from the mound in the final two innings. Freshman Dalton Light pitched one inning and let up only one hit during his college debut. The Spiders won 7-6.

After the series in New York, Richmond’s in-conference record moved to 2-4. The Spiders have another in-conference series this weekend, at home against St. Louis.

Contact sports writer Colby Wilcox at colby.wilcox@richmond.edu