Harrisonburg, Va. — The Le Moyne College baseball team took an early 9-0 lead over James Madison University, but the Dukes rallied to complete a comeback victory over the Dolphins Friday afternoon at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park, 13-11.

Eight Dolphins recorded an RBI in the setback, led by sophomore first baseman Dominick Russ (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) who drove in three runs on two hits and a walk.  Junior second baseman Ethan Farina (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa/Saint Rose) tallied two hits, including a double, one run batted in and reached base a total of four times. Junior center fielder/right fielder Jack Cannon (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and junior right fielder/left fielder Chaz Anthony (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) each recorded two hits, including one double, and drove in one.

Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher AJ Petraitis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) made the start for Le Moyne and pitched 3.1 innings of work. Junior right handed pitcher Ian Goodness (Palmyra, N.Y. Palmyra-Macedon Finger Lakes Community College) pitched 3.0 innings in relief of Petraitis, striking out two and allowing three runs, two of which were earned. Senior right-hander Luke Connors (Brampton, Ontario Heart Lake Monroe Community College) was the final reliever for the Dolphins, pitching 1.2 innings of work, striking out one, allowing two runs, one of which was earned, and recording the loss.

The Dolphins took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Farina and junior shortstop Mike Whelehan (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) worked walks, and Russ drove Farina home from second on a single up the middle.

Junior catcher Cooper Romich (North Chili, N.Y.Churchville-Chili) walked with two-outs in the second inning, and Farina followed it up with a run-scoring double to left center to give the Dolphins a 2-0 lead.

The Dolphins put seven runs across in the top of the third inning. Senior left fielder Tyler Campbell (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Onondaga C.C.) reached on a fielder's choice with two outs to put runners on first and second. Both runners attempted to advance on a wild pitch, and a throwing error by the Dukes catcher allowed senior third baseman Adam Sullivan (Syracuse, N.Y./Marcellus) to score and Campbell to reach third base.

Anthony doubled to left field to score Campbell from third, and Romich followed with an RBI single to left center to score Anthony from second. Farina then added a single, and Whelehan followed with a single to center field to score Romich and push the Dolphins lead to 6-0.

Right-hander Blake McElyea entered the game in relief of Strohecke after Whelehan's single, and gave up a double to Russ to score two more runs for the Dolphins. Cannon singled to right field to score Russ and gave the Dolphins a 9-0 lead.

The Dukes answered in the bottom of the third as a one-out triple from left fielder Kyle Langley was followed by an RBI single from shortstop Josiah Seguin. Right fielder Ike Schmidly then knocked a homer over the center field wall to cut the Dolphins lead to 9-3.

James Madison put runners on the corners with no outs in the bottom of the fourth, and centerfielder Clay Thompson singled through the left side to score the runner from third. The next batter grounded out, but Langley proceeded to send a three-run shot over the right-center field wall to make it 9-7 Le Moyne. Seguin then hit a solo shot to center field to make it back-to-back homers for the Dukes, and cut the Dolphins lead to one.

With a runner on second and two outs in the bottom of the fifth, third baseman Jack Guerrero singled up the middle to tie the ballgame at 9-9.

In the bottom of the sixth inning with runners on second and third, first baseman Keegan Haesler grounded out to score the runner from third and gave the Dukes their first lead of the game, 10-9.

Cannon singled with two outs in the top of the seventh, and then stole second base to get into scoring position. Sullivan doubled to center field to score Cannon from second, and sophomore designated hitter Robert Wegrzyn (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield) followed with an RBI double to right-center to put the Dolphins back in front, 11-10.

A double by Thompson and a walk to Langley gave the Dukes runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Back-to-back RBI singles by Seguin and Schmidly allowed James Madison to retake the lead, 12-11.

Right-hander Luke McGrath came in to pitch for the Dukes with two outs and a runner on third base in the top of the eighth inning. He struck out his first batter faced, stranding the runner on third.

With a runner on third base and one out in the bottom of the eighth Thompson recorded a sacrifice fly to center field to make it a 13-11 James Madison lead.

McGrath pitched a 1-2-3 scoreless top of the ninth to complete the comeback for James Madison, 13-11.

Le Moyne and James Madison will finish the series in a doubleheader on Saturday. Game 1 is scheduled for 1:00 p.m, followed by Game 2 about 30 minutes later.