WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team clinched its CAA three-game series with James Madison in dramatic fashion as senior Ryder Miconi delivered a walk-off RBI single to defeat the Dukes, 8-7, in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win, the Tribe improves to 21-20 overall and 6-5 in CAA action, while the Dukes fall to 18-20, 3-11 in league play.
 
W&M had five players tally multiple hits during its explosive 17-hit attack. Miconi finished 3-for-6 with two RBI and a double, while senior Charles Ameer was 3-for-5 with a double. Junior Ryan Hall recorded his fifth homer of 2017 to go along with his four RBI. Freshman Brandon Raquet turned in a 2-for-5 effort, while Kyle Wrighte notched two hits and drove in a run.
 
JMU tacked on the first run of the contest in the top of the second. Adam Sisk led off with a double to right center, and moved to third following a Zach Tondi single through the right side. After one out, Fox Semones hit a sacrifice fly to center field, plating Sisk for the early 1-0 lead.
 
The Tribe answered with a sac fly of its own in the bottom of the third.  Raquet led off the frame with a single to left center and then stole second. Raquet crossed home plate thanks to back-to-back fly outs for the 1-all tie.
 
The Dukes broke the tie with a trio of runs in the top of the fifth. After a one-out single and a hit by pitch, Mike Sciorra cracked a RBI single to center field. Kyle McPherson followed up with a two-RBI double down the left line, putting JMU ahead 4-1.
 
However, the Tribe ignited a three-run rally in the home half of the fifth to even the score again. Matthew Tilley started the rally with a one-out single up the middle. After the second out, Large, Hall and Miconi singled in order to push across three runs and create a 4-all affair.   
 
JMU regained its lead with a run in the top of the seventh. Semones reached on an error to lead off the frame and rounded the bases on a wild pitch, grounder and then another wild pitch for a 5-4 Dukes' margin.
 
Nonetheless, the Green and Gold answered quickly in the bottom of the seventh, taking its first lead of the afternoon. Large drew a one-out walk, before Hall smoked a two-run bomb through the right side for a 6-5 advantage.
 
The back and forth continued as JMU also used the long ball to reclaim its advantage in the top of the ninth. Josh Wyatt hit a leadoff single through the right side, before moving to second on a grounder. Bradley McKay followed up with a two-run dinger to left field, giving the Dukes a 7-6 lead.
 
With its back against the wall, the Tribe scored a two-out run in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Miconi smashed a leadoff double down the right field line to set the table. After two outs, Wrighte brought Miconi home courtesy of a single up the middle to tie it up at 7-7. Wrighte moved to third on a failed pick off attempt by the pitcher, but Michael Evans redeemed himself by striking out freshman Patrick Ryan for the third out.
 
In the top of the top 10^th, Ky Parrott hit a leadoff single and was bunted to second base. However, reliever Nick Brown struck out Adam Sisk and got the final out on a fly out to right field.
 
The Tribe sealed the win in the home half of the 10^th after five plate appearances. With one out, Raquet singled through the right side and stole second, setting the table. Large was walked on the next at bat and Raquet moved to third because the pitch was wild. After Hall was intentionally walked, Miconi registered the walk-off RBI single up the middle for the 9-8 conference triumph.
 
Brown earned the win after closing out the contest with three strikeouts and two run on four hits in 3.1 innings of work.
 
Michael Evans was dealt the loss as tossed four innings of relief with three strikeouts and four runs, all of them earned, on eight hits.
 
Originally scheduled to play a doubleheader, game two was cancelled due to inclement weather and the series will instead conclude tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 10:00 a.m.