RICHMOND, Va. - The William and Mary baseball team defeated VCU, 4-3, in a back- and- forth 11-inning affair Friday night from The Diamond.  VCU's ninth-inning run forced the action into extra innings, but the Tribe prevailed as junior center fielder Ryan Brown plated freshman J.T. Castner for the game's go ahead run in the top of the 11th.  With the win, W&M improves to 25-16 on the year and 10-9 in CAA play, while VCU falls to 20-18 overall and 7-12 in league action.

On the mound, junior RHP Brett Koehler (4-1) saw 6.2 innings of action and allowed just two earned runs on five hits in the no-decision.  Junior closer RHP John Farrell (2-0) notched his second win of the season in his 4.1 innings of relief.  The Andover, Mass., native held the VCU bats to just one earned run and four hits, while striking out three.  VCU's senior RHP Kyle Pelchy (3-2) took the loss in his 4.2 innings of action.

Junior second baseman Kevin Nutter went 3-for-6 with a run scored to lead the W&M bats.  Brown tallied two hits and the game-winning RBI, while freshman right fielder Josh Smith finished the night 2-for-5 with a run batted in.  Junior shortstop Ryan Williams was 1-for-3 with an RBI, while sophomore third baseman Ryan Lindemuth notched a hit and a run scored.  Rounding out the W&M output was senior left fielder Tadd Bower, who recorded two hits.

In the bottom of the first, the Rams plated a run as it took an early 1-0 lead.  Sophomore third baseman Joey Cujas drove in sophomore center fielder Bill Cullen with a single through the middle of the infield.

W&M tied the affair at 1-1 after pushing across a run in the top half of the seventh.  Katz led off the frame with a single through the left side, which was followed by a Bower walk.  The Tribe then loaded the bases after Smith laid down a beautiful bunt.  With one out and the bases loaded, Williams plated Katz on a sacrifice fly out to center field for the College's first run of the night.

VCU responded in the bottom half as it regained the lead at 2-1.  With one out, junior right fielder Taylor Braun connected on a double to left-center field and later scored on freshman shortstop Vimael Machin's infield single.

Not to be outdone, the Green and Gold plated a pair of runs in the top half of the eighth, as it went ahead, 3-2.  Nutter started off the two-run frame with an infield single, and later advanced to second Brown's sacrifice bunt.  Lindemuth then singled on a bunt, in which Nutter scored all the way from second via an errant throw from the VCU pitcher.  With two outs and Lindemuth on second, Bower plated the Burke, Va., native with a single to right field, giving W&M a one-run advantage.

In the bottom of ninth, sophomore pinch-hitter Landon Prentriss drove in Braun on a one-out single to left field as the Rams knotted the score at 3-3.

The College went up for good, 4-3, in the top half of the 11th.  Aiken led off the frame reaching first base on an error by the VCU third baseman.  Castner then checked into the game to pinch run for Aiken.  With two outs and Castner on second, Brown drove in the Williamsburg, Va., native with a single for the game-winning run.

With no outs, VCU got a runner into scoring position in the bottom half of the frame.  However, Farrell went on to preserve the win as he retired the next three Black and Gold batters.

Due to the threat of inclement weather expected in the region on Sunday, the Tribe baseball team will conclude its three-game series against VCU with a doubleheader tomorrow.  Saturday's game one from The Diamond is slated for a noon start and will be followed by the series finale.  Fans can follow the action online at TribeAthletics.com with live stats.