Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. - Chris Nehl's walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth capped a wild four-run rally by the University of Delaware baseball team that saw the squad erase a three-run deficit on the way to capturing an 8-7 victory over James Madison on Sunday afternoon at Bob Hannah Stadium.

Nehl (at right) finished the day with two hits and three RBI, while Bill Merkler chipped in with a 3-for-4 performance.

Delaware (22-14, 8-7 CAA), which had trailed for all but one inning during the three-game series, entered the bottom of the ninth staring at a 7-4 deficit. Despite the imposing obstacle, the Hens refused to give up as the hosts fought back to grab the walk-off win.

Scott Shockley started the rally with a single up the middle before Jared Olson followed with a double down the leftfield line. Carlos Alonso brought in the first run with an RBI groundout before Ryan Cuneo worked a one-out walk.

Olson came charging home with the second run of the inning after James Madison’s Kevin Munson uncorked a wild pitch. On the play, Zach Costello, who entered as a pinch runner for Cuneo, made a crucial, heads-up play, taking two bases after completing a mad dash to third.

Following an intentional walk to Bill Merkler, Ryan Reed knotted the game at seven with a single that just dropped in front of James Madison’s centerfielder. Josh Dean, who came in to run for Merkler, made it to third on Reed’s hit and came around with the winning run after Nehl followed with a chopper over third base.

The victory marked the first for the Blue Hens against the Dukes since 2007. James Madison (23-18, 8-7) had won six straight contests during that span.

In the early going, JMU opened the scoring in the top of the second following an RBI single by Jake Lowery. Delaware immediately responded as the squad captured its first lead of the series after Nehl launched his sixth home run of the season over the left centerfield fence.

The Blue Hens’ lead was short-lived as the Dukes quickly capitalized on four hits and a walk to plate two runs in the top of the third to retake the lead at 3-2.

The following inning, James Madison padded its one-run advantage with four more in the fourth. Matt Browning highlighted the rally, punching a three-run shot to left for his third home run of the series. Later, Mike Fabiaschi knocked in the team’s final run with an RBI single to right despite being thrown out attempting to advance to second on two good relays by Steve Ulaky and Reed.

With a 7-2 lead, Trevor Knight looked sharp on the mound for James Madison. The sophomore right-hander eventually sent five straight Hens down on strikes, including all three looking in the fourth, before Alonso broke up the streak with a line-drive double in the fifth.

Delaware scratched together a run in the bottom of the sixth after starting the inning with back-to-back singles by Merkler and Reed. Ulaky followed with an infield chopper, and although the Dukes got the force out at second, an errant relay throw to first allowed Merkler to hustle his way home.

After stranding Shockley in scoring position following a lead-off double in the seventh, Delaware took advantage of a two-base hit by Merkler in the eighth. Following the double and a walk to Reed, Ulaky brought in the team’s fourth run of the day with an RBI single to center.

The Blue Hens then broke free in the ninth with four runs to clinch the come-from-behind victory.

Corey Crispell (5-3) picked up the victory after tossing three outstanding innings of relief. The sophomore righty struck out four and allowed just one hit during his outing.

Delaware’s late rally spoiled a great start by Knight, who also served as his own designated hitter and scored two runs. The Dukes’ starting pitcher finished the day with a career-high 14 strikeouts and did not surrender a walk while allowing just two earned runs in seven innings of work.

Munson (2-3) took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in 1.1 innings of relief.

Along with Merkler and Nehl, Reed, Ulaky, and Shockley all picked up two hits for the Hens.

Delaware centerfielder Matt Greco turned in the defensive play of the day in the sixth after David Herbek led off the inning with a sinking line drive to the right centerfield gap. Greco quickly tracked the ball into the alley before making a beautiful diving grab to snare the ball in his out-stretched glove.

The Blue Hens will return to action on Tuesday when the team travels to Dover to take on intrastate rival Delaware State in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.