SMITHFIELD, R.I. (Interstat) — In a wild, back-and-forth affair that stretched into the evening hours, the Rhode Island Rams outlasted the Bryant Bulldogs 10-9 on Tuesday at Conaty Park, avenging a loss from earlier in the season.

The game, which began in the afternoon, saw the visiting Rams build a commanding early lead only to watch the Bulldogs chip away relentlessly before Rhode Island secured the final outs with the tying run on third base.

Rhode Island struck immediately. Brody King doubled down the left field line in the first inning and scored on Joe Hopko’s RBI single. The Rams then broke the game open with a five-run second inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Alex Leikus and run-scoring singles from Matt Moroney and King.

Facing a 6-0 deficit, Bryant began its methodical comeback in the bottom of the first. Charlie Saul was hit by a pitch, stole second and third, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Kingsbury. The Bulldogs added three more in the third, capitalizing on a balk that forced in a run and an RBI single from Carlos Irizarry to cut the lead to 6-4.

Rhode Island’s King drove in another run in the fourth, but Bryant answered in the fifth on an RBI double from Mike Fiatarone. The pivotal moment came in the bottom of the sixth. After Saul singled and stole another base, Bryant third baseman Ellis Garcia launched a two-run homer to left center, bringing the Bulldogs within a single run at 7-6.

The Rams responded in the top of the seventh. Hopko singled and, with two outs, Cam Thompson hit a crucial two-run homer to center field off reliever Greg Gorman, extending the lead back to 9-6. Bryant again clawed back in the bottom half, scoring an unearned run on a pair of Rhode Island errors to make it 9-8.

Rhode Island added what proved to be a vital insurance run in the eighth. With two on and two out, Thompson delivered again, lacing a two-run double down the right field line to put the Rams ahead 10-8. Bryant’s final rally came in the bottom of the eighth. Hudson Story doubled and later scored on a double play grounder by Irizarry, trimming the deficit to 10-9.

Bryant threatened once more in the ninth against Rhode Island closer Turner. Casey Wensley singled, advanced to second on an error and stole third with two outs. But Turner struck out Charlie Saul swinging to end the game, stranding the potential tying run 90 feet away.

Thompson led the Rams’ offense, going 3-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs. King added four hits and two RBIs. For Bryant, Garcia’s two-run homer was the key blow in the comeback effort, part of a day where he reached base three times. Saul scored three runs and stole four bases. Bryant out-hit Rhode Island 12 to 11 but left 11 men on base.

Reliever Zev Salsberg provided critical stability for Bryant, throwing three innings of one-run ball after the rocky start. Rhode Island’s bullpen, despite allowing eight runs, managed to hold on through the final tense innings.

With the win, Rhode Island improved to 15-19 overall, while Bryant fell to 18-15. The Rams evened the season series after losing 4-2 to the Bulldogs on March 25.

The most important sequence of the game was Rhode Island’s immediate response to Bryant’s biggest rally. After Ellis Garcia’s two-run homer in the sixth inning energized the home crowd and brought Bryant within one run at 7-6, the Rams’ Cam Thompson neutralized the momentum in the very next half-inning. His two-out, two-run homer in the top of the seventh off Greg Gorman stretched the lead back to three runs. This proved decisive, as the two-run cushion provided the necessary margin to withstand Bryant’s final pushes, including the unearned run in the seventh and the run in the eighth, ultimately allowing Rhode Island to survive by a single run.