SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. (Interstat) — Joey Donnelly homered twice and drove in three runs to lead the Fordham Rams to an 8-5 victory over the Rhode Island Rams on Friday afternoon at Bill Beck Field in an Atlantic 10 matchup.

Donnelly, a first baseman and right fielder, went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs. He delivered a solo shot in the fifth inning and a two-run homer in the sixth, the latter extending Fordham’s lead to 8-3. The outburst backed a solid, albeit unusual, start from Fordham pitcher Beau Elson, who allowed four earned runs on zero hits over six innings while striking out three. Elson’s line reflected four walks and a reliance on defense, as Rhode Island scratched across runs without a hit until the fourth inning.

Tommy McAndrews also went deep for Fordham, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Tommy Markey contributed a 2-for-4 day with an RBI double. The Fordham offense collected 10 hits overall.

Rhode Island outhit Fordham 13-10, led by catcher Danny Leikus, who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. Leikus doubled twice and singled twice. Reece Moroney added a 2-for-5 performance with an RBI double. Despite the offensive output, Rhode Island stranded runners and could not overcome Fordham’s early power.

Fordham struck first in the top of the second inning. After a double by Little, Markey doubled to center field to drive in Little for a 1-0 lead. The Rams added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Ford, making it 2-0. McAndrews then led off the fifth with a home run to right field, and Donnelly followed with a solo shot to right, pushing the lead to 4-0.

Rhode Island got on the board in the third when Thompson’s groundout scored Henschel, who had walked and stolen second. The home team added a run in the fourth on Leikus’ RBI double, trimming the deficit to 4-2. Moroney’s RBI double in the fifth made it 4-3.

Fordham answered in the top of the sixth. After a double by Markey and an error by Rhode Island third baseman Connolly, two runs scored, making it 6-3. Donnelly then crushed his second home run of the game, a two-run shot, to cap the inning at 8-3.

Rhode Island chipped away again in the bottom of the sixth when Leikus doubled home Connolly, cutting the lead to 8-4. In the ninth, Hopko homered to deep right field with one out, making it 8-5. But Rhode Island could not continue the rally, as Connolly grounded out to third to end the game.

Fordham improved to 23-24 overall, while Rhode Island fell to 18-26. The two teams are scheduled to meet again Saturday and Sunday to continue the series.

On the mound, Fordham used three pitchers. After Elson’s six innings, Declan Cawley tossed three innings of one-run relief, allowing one hit and striking out one to earn the save. For Rhode Island, starter Houchens was lifted in the fifth. Braden Perry threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout, while AJ Jones worked a perfect inning. Parker Aikens recorded one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.

The game was a rematch of a projected close contest. Interstat’s game simulator had projected an 8-4 final in favor of Fordham, while Interstat’s ELO system had given Rhode Island a 63.60 percent probability of winning.