Box score

BRONX, NY—Down by a score of 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, host Fordham broke out for a combined six runs in its last two innings at bat to defeat visiting NJIT, 8-3, Friday in opening day play at the first Frankie Frisch Invitational baseball tournament.
 
The come-from-behind win lifted Fordham to a 9-6 record for the season, while NJIT falls to 4-8.
 
NJIT which did not score more than two runs in a game in any of its three contests last weekend in North Carolina against Presbyterian, scored three times in the top of the first inning at Fordham. However, the Highlanders would be held without a run the rest of the game. Still, that was good enough for six innings, with left-handed ace Tripp Davis limiting the Rams to two runs (one earned) on single tallies in the second and fifth innings, respectively.
 
However, with Davis having thrown over 100 pitches on a chilly day, Highlander coach Brian Guiliana turned to the bullpen to begin the bottom of the seventh inning and that was when Fordham seized control. The Rams exploded for five runs and five hits against two NJIT relievers in the bottom of the seventh inning and then Fordham added another run in the bottom of the eighth to reach the final score.
 
The winning pitcher for Fordham was senior LHP Rich Anastasi (1-2), who gave the Rams a superb day of long relief, blanking NJIT over six innings, while allowing just two hits and two walks, with a pair of strikeouts. Freshman RHP Cody Johnson, the Fordham starter, pitched the first three innings and yielded three runs on four hits and three walks,  
 
The loss went to the first NJIT reliever, freshman LHP Ian Bentley (0-1), who was charged with five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk. He lasted a third of an inning before junior RHP Joe Fasano came on and Fasano's line was: 1.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 run and two strikeouts.
 
For Davis, the standout NJIT senior, this was his second straight strong outing with no decision in a game his team lost after he was gone from the game. Last week at Presbyterian, Davis allowed a single unearned run in 7.1 innings and the Highlanders went on to a 2-1 defeat in 12 innings. This time against Fordham, Davis left with the 3-2 lead, having allowed nine hits and one earned run, while striking out eight and walking two in six innings.
 
The season record for Davis remains 0-2, despite a 2.81 earned run average in 32 innings over five starts. He has allowed just three earned runs combined over his last four starts, covering 26 innings (1.04 ERA), with a loss to nationally-ranked Oklahoma State followed by three no-decisions.
 
Fordham, which had 16 hits against the trio of Highlander pitchers, had all four of the extra-base hits in the game (two doubles and two triples). Freshman C Charles Galiano led the way for the Rams, going 3-for-4, including both of his team's triples. All three Fordham starting outfielders—RF Matthew Cianci, CF Tim Swatek, and LF Ryan McNally—got two hits each, as did 3B Ian Edmiston, with McNally and Edmiston each stroking a double.
 
NJIT, with six hits, got two each from freshman SS Nick Swim and freshman RF Jake Stern.
 
The Highlanders got going early when freshman LF Nick Rabasco was hit by a pitch leading off the game. After an out, 3B Matt Weckerle singled and he and Rabasco soon moved up a base each on a wild pitch. A walk to redshirt freshman DH Stephan Halibej loaded the bases and Swim then singled to drive home the first run. Sophomore 2B Mike Rampone made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly that brought in Weckerle. A walk to 1B Tom Bouck reloaded the bases and C Scott Brosman drew another walk, forcing in the third NJIT run.
 
Fordham got on the board in the bottom of the third inning, which opened with back-to-back singles for Galiano and McNally. After an out, Edmiston doubled down the right field line.
 
The Rams pulled to within a run of the lead, 3-2, on a two-out unearned run in the fourth inning. Davis retired the first two batters, but SS Joseph Runco reached base on a throwing error and then stole second base, setting up a two-out run-scoring single for Swatek, the junior who was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2011.
 
Davis kept the Highlanders on top with a 1-2-3 fifth inning and a scoreless sixth in which he allowed two hits, but retired the last two batters to preserve the lead.
 
The pendulum swung quickly in Fordham's favor in the bottom of the seventh inning, which began with a walk to the leadoff hitter. Galiano, who was selected by the Phillies organization in the 2012 MLB draft out of Commack High School on Long Island, but chose to attend Fordham instead of turning pro, followed with a triple that tied the score and McNally followed him with a double that gave the Rams a 4-3 lead they only built on with three more runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.
 
Frankie Frisch (1898-1973) is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player (.316 lifetime batting average; 2,880 hits in 19 seasons; 1931 National League MVP) and manager (16 seasons, 1,138 wins) in the major leagues. He played baseball in high school at Fordham Prep and then in college at Fordham from 1918 to 1919 before embarking on his illustrious pro career, thus leading to his nickname in the newspapers of his time---“The Fordham Flash”. The inaugural Frankie Frisch Invitational field includes Sacred Heart and Saint Peter's in addition to Fordham and NJIT.
 
NJIT is scheduled to face Saint Peter's at noon on Saturday and Sacred Heart at noon on Sunday. The entire Frankie Frisch Invitational is being played at Houlihan Park on Fordham's campus.