KINGSTON, R.I. – The Explorers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but fell to the red-hot Rhode Island Rams on the road on Friday, 10-5, in the first of a three-game Atlantic 10 weekend series.
 
The win for the Rams (17-25, 7-9 A-10) was their ninth in a row.
 
La Salle (14-32, 4-12 A-10) scored the game's first two runs in the opening inning before losing the lead for good in the second. Senior Austin Constantini scored on an RBI groundout by junior Ben Faso for the first run. In his first game back from a lengthy absence, junior Kevin McGowan wasted no time in delivering an RBI single up the middle in his first at-bat to score classmate Peyton Sorrels to give the Explorers a 2-0 lead.
 
Rhode Island cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the first and then scored twice in the second frame to take a 3-2 lead. The Rams again plated two in the third inning along with a run in the fifth to push their lead to 6-2.
 
In the sixth, senior Chase Arnold struck an RBI single up the middle to bring home senior Brian Dudeck. Sophomore Dylan Evans followed that up with an RBI single of his own, scoring classmate Ryan Guckin to make it a two-run game.
 
However, Rhode Island took advantage of a La Salle error in the seventh and added on four more runs to go on top, 10-4.
 
The Explorers scored a run in the ninth, as Arnold crossed the plate after Evans reached on an error, but that was all she wrote.
 
Arnold, Evans and Sorrels each posted two-hit games for La Salle. Sophomore Jackson Ray made the start on the hill, hitting career highs in strikeouts (8) and pitches (138) over 6.1 innings of work.
 
The two teams will meet again Saturday at 1 p.m.