If anyone would have told manager Charlie O'Donnell that the anemic Fordham offense would only muster three runs against Megahurtz--a team that had not lost yet and had a record of 4-0-1, he probably would have thought yesterday's game was going to be a rerun of the team's previous efforts.
And boy, would he have been wrong, because everyone knows that pitching and defense win games.
Patti Dickerson tossed 7 innings of one run ball, striking out four along the way, to get Fordham its first real win, 3-1. She was backed up by errorless, yes errorless, as in, perfect, as in, every time the ball was hit to someone, they caught it, defense. The play in the field was led by Jason Giannitti, who also drove in the go ahead runs for Fordham in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run single that scored Ron Zapata and Samara Finn. Giannitti vacuumed up flyout after flyout in leftfield. The left side of the defense was also bolstered by the cleatless Kevin Rodricks, who, despite the lack of traction, managed a few circus catches for ESPN's Slowpitch Softball Tonight.
The win, combined with ABA's forfeit last week, gives Fordham a 2-4 record. There is also a suspended game that Fordham leads 7-5 with two innings to go that needs to be completed later in the season. If Fordham can pull that game out, they're actually not out of contention should this win spark any kind of streak. One thing's for sure, they'll have to find a way to get the offense sparked, because three runs a game is going to be very little gas for a long road up the standings.
After the game, the team signed the game ball and gave it to Patti Dickerson for her efforts in the franchise's first actual win on the field.