Kingston, R.I. – (April 26, 2024) – Fordham's
Declan Lavelle and
Gannon Brady limited Rhode Island to seven hits on Friday, while
Cian Sahler and
Daniel Bucciero each drove in two runs, as the Fordham Rams defeated the Rhode Island Rams, 8-4, to open a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Bill Beck Field.
Rhode Island (13-23, 5-8 A10) opened the scoring in the second inning, getting a two-run double by Rob Butler.
Fordham (17-23, 8-5 A10) then scored once in the fourth inning and three times in the fifth for a 4-2 lead. After an RBI-ground out by
Madden Ocko in the fourth,
Daniel Bucciero tied the game at two with a solo home run to right, his team-leading seventh of the season.
Ryan Thiesse and
Andrew Kanellis followed with back-to-back walks to keep the Fordham rally alive.
Cian Sahler then roped a two-triple to the right field corner to score both runners for a 4-2 edge.
The hit extended Sahler's hit streak to 17 games, which tied Mike Marchiano (1997) for the third longest in Fordham history.
URI tied the game at four in the bottom of the sixth, getting a pair of solo home runs by Michael Anderson and Jack Hopko.
Fordham quickly went back on top in the top of the seventh with a four-run rally, taking advantage of two Rhode Island errors. The Rams scored once on an error, while the other three runs came on a bases loaded hit by pitch to
Henry Pelinski and walks to
Chris Genaro and Bucciero.
The Maroon and White pitching duo of
Declan Lavelle and
Gannon Brady took care of the rest, as they held Rhode Island off the scoreboard in the final three innings. Lavelle (6-4) earned the win, allowing four runs over seven innings with five strikeouts, while Brady pitched two scoreless innings of relief to close out the contest.
At the plate, Sahler was 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI, while Bucciero had a home run and two RBI.
Tommy McAndrews finished with a pair of hits, with Thiesse and Kanellis each having a hit and two runs scored.
Game two of the series will be on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
