Photo Gallery The long ball was on display Wednesday at Houlihan Park, as a total of eight home runs were hit in the 125
th meeting between Fordham and Columbia since 1900. The Lions got the better of Home Run Derby as well as on the scoreboard, winning the contest, 16-3, over the Rams.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 15-24 on the year, while Columbia improved to 24-12.
Columbia used the long ball early and often, building a 14-1 lead by the fifth inning.
Robb Paller got things going with a solo home run in the first inning, and then hit a two-run home run in the third inning. One out later in the third inning, Gus Craig hit a solo home run to right for a 4-0 lead.
The Lions tacked on six more runs in the fourth, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Joe Falcone and Craig.
Fordham got into the home run derby in the bottom of the fourth, when
Jordan Gajdos hit a solo home run to center for his first career home run.
Tim O'Connor was one of two Rams to hit
their first career home runs on Wednesday. Columbia added to the lead in the fifth, when Randell Kanemaru hit a grand slam home run to left, his third of the season and the sixth of the day by Columbia.
The long ball contest ended in the ninth, as Fordham's
Tim O'Connor blasted a two-run home run to left for his first career home run to make it a 16-3 final score.
The six home runs allowed were the most Fordham has given up since Liberty hit six home runs on March 18, 2009. The 16 runs scored by Columbia were the most by the Lions in the Fordham-Columbia series since May 13, 1958, when the Lions posted a 17-3 win.
Fordham starter
Cody Johnson fell to 0-3 on the season, allowing four runs on six hits in three innings of work. Besides the home runs by Gajdos and O'Connor,
Ryan Mahoney was 2-for-2 with a run scored, while
Joseph DeVito extended his hit streak to nine games with a base hit in the second inning.
The Rams are back in action on Friday, April 24
th, when Fordham begins a three-game Atlantic 10 series against the Saint Louis Billikens at Houlihan Park, beginning at 6:00 PM.