BRONX, N.Y. — The UMass Lowell baseball took a five run lead after two innings but suffered their second 6-5 loss in as many days, falling this time at the hands of Fordham at Houlihan Park.
 
Sophomore Ian Strom (Hopedale, Mass.) put the River Hawks (3-8) ahead in the first with a two run single up the middle before junior Joe Consolmagno (Worcester, Mass.) pushed the lead to five with the clubs first homer of the year. Consolmagno lined a second inning drive over the fence in right field that scored Geoff DeGroot (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and Ben Prada (Laurel, Md.).
 
River Hawks righty Andrew Ryan (Rochester, Mass.) went five innings and struck out five while allowing two earned runs on five hits to the Rams. Ryan came out for fellow freshman Brendan Shea (Belmont, Mass.) who surrendered four runs on five hits in his two innings of work. It was Shea's first loss of the season.
 
The Rams did half of their damage in the sixth when they scored three runs off Shea. Jason Lundy stepped into the box with the bases loaded and singled through the right side to score a pair. The Rams scored the tying run on a play at the plate when the ball popped out of UML catcher Brice Erickson's (Leominster, Mass.) glove on a single into right by Joseph Runco. Fordham got the go-ahead run in the seventh on a two out single by Ryan McNally that brought Ryan Mahoney in to score.
 
The River Hawks will have Wednesday off before their unofficial home opener at Fiondella Field on the campus of the University of Hartford against Yale. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.