HARRISONBURG, VA -- The Blue Hen offense banged out 12 hits and spotted the bullpen a five-run lead, but the University of Delaware baseball team suffered through another late-inning collapse as James Madison overcame the deficit to pull out the improbable 8-7 victory during a Colonial Athletic Association contest at Long Field on Saturday afternoon.

Adam Tsakonas (at right), Scott Shockley, and Chris Nehl all roped two hits for Delaware (11-21, 5-9 CAA), while Tsakonas and Alex Buchholz both went deep, but the team's five-run lead entering the bottom of the sixth quickly vanished as James Madison (24-8, 14-2) scored six unanswered runs in the final four innings of play to capture the victory.

With the Hens leading, 7-2, entering the bottom of the sixth, starter Brad Miller, who had cruised through the first five innings of play, loaded the bases after surrendering a double to Trevor Knight before hitting two batters in a row. After Delaware brought in bullpen help, freshman reliever Michael Londino worked out of the jam, surrendering only a single run on an RBI groundout by David Herbek.

Still up by a comfortable four-run margin, Delaware could do little but watch as James Madison continued to chip away at the Hens' lead. In the seventh, Joe Lake and Brett Sellers both roped hits off Londino before an error by Kyle Davis allowed both runners to cross the plate which pulled the Dukes with two at 7-5.

After James Madison cut its deficit to one following a solo shot by Matt Browning in the eighth, the team concluded its comeback with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Sellers led off the rally with a solo shot to left center before Steven Caseres and Knight both worked walks.

David Slovak, who came in to relieve Londino, eventually forced McKinnon Langston to ground out for the second out of the inning, but on the play, the two runners advanced to second and third. Caseres then came home with the winning run after the Hens' closer uncorked a wild pitch.

Londino (0-3) took the loss for Delaware, while Knight, who worked double-duty as James Madison's designated hitter and closer, earned the win after striking out the only two batters he faced in the top of the ninth.

Before the sixth, Delaware looked to be in control of the contest from the start. In the opening frame, Tsakonas and Buchholz crushed back-to-back home runs to spot the team an early 2-0 lead.

Although James Madison answered with a two-run shot by Caseres in the third, the Blue Hens jumped on the Dukes in the middle innings.

In its fifth trip to the plate, the Delaware lineup pushed two runs across after the team loaded the bases following a single by Davis and walks to Tsakonas and Shockley before Ryan Cuneo smacked a two-run single up the middle.

The Hens added three more in the sixth when Tsakonas roped a run-scoring double before Shockley added a single down the right field line that brought in the Hens' last two runs of the game.

After that point, it was all James Madison as the Dukes nailed six runs to the board to pull off the comeback victory.

The late-inning collapse ruined a strong performance by Miller who, despite allowing three runs in 5.1 innings of work, struck out seven and walked only one. The sophomore righty also scattered six hits but did plunk three batters during his outing.

The two teams will conclude their three-game series tomorrow at 1 p.m.

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