NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (Interstat) — Fordham’s Jordan Rodarte delivered three perfect innings of relief to seal a 6-5 victory for the Rams in 12 innings over Iona on Wednesday at City Park, a stark reversal for a pitcher struggling through a difficult April.

The game’s decisive moment came without a hit in the top of the 12th. With the score tied 5-5, Fordham’s Kirk reached on a bunt single, advanced to second on a passed ball and stole third. With two outs and Joey Donnelly at first after a walk, Kirk executed a daring straight steal of home on a double-steal attempt, scoring the unearned run that proved to be the winner.

Rodarte, named the top star for Fordham, then shut the door in the bottom of the frame. He struck out Iona’s Anthony Silvia looking to end the marathon contest, capping a dominant outing where he faced the minimum over the final three innings, striking out three. This performance contrasted sharply with his recent outings, including a three-run, one-third inning appearance just eight days prior.

The Rams built an early lead against the Gaels. They plated a run in the first on a sacrifice fly by Ocko, then added three more in the fourth on a towering three-run homer by first baseman Matt Dieguez. Donnelly extended the lead to 6-3 with a solo home run to right-center in the sixth.

Iona chipped away, capitalizing on Fordham errors. The Gaels scored two unearned runs in the fifth on an error by the Rams’ shortstop and mounted a late rally in the ninth to force extras. Down to their final out, Iona’s Murphy scored from third on another Fordham throwing error, knotting the game at 5.

Both bullpens traded zeros until the 12th. Fordham relievers Robbie Stewart, Alec Murray, Andrew Kapica, Mason Morello and Rodarte combined for 10 innings of three-hit, one-run ball after the starter exited. Iona’s Jackson Kossow, Nick Neville and Daniel Castillo were similarly effective from the fifth inning onward, allowing just one run over 7 1/3 combined frames.

Fordham improved to 19-23 overall, while Iona fell to 14-19. The Rams’ victory defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 7-4 Iona win, though their ELO rating system had favored Fordham with a 66.5% probability to win.

The Gaels out-hit the Rams 12-10 but left 11 runners on base and were stifled by Fordham’s late-inning pitching. The game lasted 4 hours and 17 minutes.

Fordham opens a three-game series against George Mason at home on Friday. Iona travels to face Fairfield for a three-game set starting the same day.