TYSONS, Va. (Interstat) — Ryan King homered twice and drove in three runs, and Rhode Island erupted for eight runs in the ninth inning to outslug Saint Joseph’s 17-9 on Thursday afternoon in an Atlantic 10 game at Capital One Park.

The Rams, who entered the day 25-28, improved to 25-29 with the victory. The Hawks, who came in with a 35-17 record, fell to 35-18.

King paced a 20-hit Rhode Island attack, going 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs. He homered in the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie and added a two-run shot in the fifth. Danny Leikus went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, and shortstop Reece Moroney had three hits and an RBI. Jack Hopko drove in two runs and scored twice.

Saint Joseph’s managed 10 hits, led by Joey Pagano, who went 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and Tim Dickinson, who was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, including a two-run double in the ninth inning. The Hawks had cut a 17-7 deficit to 17-9 on that hit but could get no closer.

Rhode Island starter Jake Cullen worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing no hits and five earned runs while striking out six. He was replaced after a seven-run Hawks rally in the seventh that turned a 10-1 deficit into a 10-7 game. Tommy Turner earned the save with 2 1/3 innings of two-run relief, striking out five. Saint Joseph’s starter Peter Bashore gave up two earned runs on two hits over 2 2/3 innings in relief but took the loss.

The game turned decisively in Rhode Island’s favor in the top of the fifth. After Saint Joseph’s had cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a double by Alex Kelsey, King launched a solo homer in the fourth to make it 3-1. In the fifth, Hopko doubled in Moroney, and King followed with his second homer, a two-run shot, to push the lead to 6-1.

Rhode Island added four more runs in the sixth, including a two-run single by pinch hitter TJ Gormley and a run-scoring double by Moroney, to go ahead 10-1. Saint Joseph’s answered with a six-run seventh, highlighted by Pagano’s two-run single and a wild pitch that allowed another run, making it 10-7.

But Rhode Island put the game away in the ninth. After Moroney and Hopko singled, King was intentionally walked, and Brian Connolly singled in two runs. Leikus then doubled to left, driving in two more. Scott Penney doubled in another, and an error by Saint Joseph’s second baseman Carson Applegate allowed two more runs to score, making it 17-7.

Saint Joseph’s scored twice in the bottom of the ninth on Dickinson’s double, but Turner struck out the final two batters to end the game.

Earlier in the day, the Rams had taken a 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly, but the Hawks tied it in the bottom of the inning when Kelsey doubled in Joey Gale. Rhode Island went ahead for good in the third when Ryan Thompson doubled in Ryan Henschel.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Saint Joseph’s 7, Rhode Island 6.