HARRISONBURG, Va. - Sophomore righthander Nick Slogik came out of the bullpen to record the final out as James Madison University (32-17, 16-9) survived a seven-run rally in the ninth inning by the Tigers (25-24-1, 14-11) to hold on for a 13-9 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Tigers in the opening game of their three-game weekend series at Veterans Memorial Park on Friday evening.

In a matchup between two of the top four teams in the CAA, the Dukes owned a 13-2 lead entering the ninth inning of the series opener.

James Madison, which came into the game tied for second place in the CAA, cooled off the Tigers, who entered the game with seven wins in their last eight games. The Tigers came into the game as the fourth place team in the CAA.

Freshman lefthander Luke Munson came on to pitch the ninth inning and was the victim of the Tigers' rally. Senior shortstop Nick Natoli (right) led off the ninth with a single to centerfield. Sophomore second baseman Pat Fitzgerald drew a walk before a single by senior first baseman Austin Harclerode loaded the bases with no outs.

A bases loaded walk to senior rightfielder Steve Rice drove in the first run of the inning. After senior third baseman Chris Wychock fouled out to first base, sophomore catcher Andrew Parker grounded into a force play while Fitzgerald scored. A walk to junior designated hitter Ben Winter loaded the bases again.

When freshman centerfielder Brandon Gonnella drew another bases loaded walk, Harclerode scored the third run of the inning. Freshman leftfielder Dominic Fratantuono drew another bases loaded walk as Rice scored to cut the Tigers' deficit to 13-6.

With the bases loaded, Natoli came to the plate again. He lined a single to rightfield, his second hit of the ninth inning, as two runs scored. When sophomore rightfielder Cole McInturff made an error on the play, Fratantuono scored all the way from first base to make it a 13-9 game while Natoli reached second base.

Natoli's single knocked Munson out of the game as Slogik came in to relieve him. After running the count to 3-and-2, he retired Fitzgerald on a ground ball to shortstop, ending the game.

The Dukes, who entered the game as the CAA leaders with a .321 team batting average and 70 home runs, wasted little time taking an early lead. Junior leftfielder Johnny Bladel opened the game with an infield single to third base. Then, junior catcher Jake Lowery blasted his 22nd home run of the season over the left field fence to give JMU a 2-0 advantage. It was only third home run allowed by senior righthander Charlie Cononie in 72 innings this season.

Senior David Herbek kept the inning alive when he drew a walk. But, Cononie regrouped and retired sophomore first baseman Matt Tenaglia on a ground ball back to the mound. Then, he struck out junior leftfielder Ian Haynes and senior centerfielder Alex Foltz to end the inning.

In the top of the third inning, the Tigers rallied against junior lefthander Seth Tierney.  Fratantuono led off the frame with a double to centerfield. After Natoli bunted him over to third base, Fitzgerald singled to right, driving in Fratantuono to cut the deficit to 2-1.

After Tierney struck out Harclerode, he issued back-to-back walks to Rice and Wychock, loading the bases. However, Tierney pitched out of the jam by striking out Parker on three pitches.

Leading by 2-1 in the last of the fourth inning, the Dukes rallied for four runs against Cononie. With one out, freshman Ty McFarland drew a walk. Sophomore Bradley Shaban was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. After Cononie struck out McInturff, Bladel single to rightfield, driving in a run to make it a 3-1 lead. A walk to Lowery loaded the bases before Herbek lined a two-run single to rightfield, giving the Dukes a 5-1 advantage. Tenaglia gave the Dukes a 6-1 advantage when he singled to centerfield. Cononie pitched out of the inning by striking out Haynes.

After the four-run fourth inning, Cononie retired the next seven hitters in a row. He left the game after pitching six innings. He allowed six runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts. By striking out six, he increased his seasonal total to 90 strikeouts as he broke the Towson single season record of 89, set by Bryan Simmering in 2001.

Facing the Tiger bullpen, the Dukes erupted for six runs in the seventh inning. Sophomore righthander Mike Bronakoski opened the inning by striking out Herbek. After walking Tenaglia, Bronakoski surrendered a two-run homer to pinch hitter Evan Scott, upping the lead to 8-1. Foltz followed with a single to centerfield and McFarland walked.

After the walk to McFarland, sophomore lefthander Mike Ryan struck out Shaban for the second out of the inning. When Ryan walked McInturff, the bases were loaded. A wild pitch enabled Foltz to score for a 9-1 advantage. A walk to Bladel loaded the bases. Then, Lowery tripled down the right field line to drive in three runs and give the Dukes a 12-1 lead. Freshman righthander Troy Bennett came in to pitch and ended the rally getting pinch hitter Billy Logan to hit a fly ball to centerfield.

The Tigers pulled to within 12-2 in the eighth inning. Facing freshman righthander Trent Cundiff, Wychock led off with a triple down the leftfield line. Parker followed with an RBI single to centerfield. After Winter grounded out, Gonnella drew a walk. But, Cundiff got Fratantuono to hit a double play ball back to the mound, ending the inning.

The Dukes added another run in the bottom of the eighth. Tenaglia led off with a double down the left line. With one out, Foltz singled to rightfield, driving in the final run of the game for the Dukes. Bennett set down the Dukes without further incident as he struck out McFarland and retired Shaban on a popup to Natoli.

Tierney earned his eighth win of the season by allowing one run on six hits in seven innings of work. He walked four and struck out five.

While suffering his first loss since February 26, Cononie had his seven-game winning streak snapped. He fell to 7-3 on the season.

Each team had 11 hits in the game. However, the Tigers left 11 runners on base in the loss.

Lowery led the Dukes with two hits and five runs batted in while Bladel had two hits and scored three runs. Tenaglia also had a pair of hits and scored twice.

Making his first appearance since spraining his ankle in a win over Maryland nine days ago, Winter was three-for-four and drew a walk. Natoli went two-for-four and drove in two runs while Harclerode had two hits as he extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

Despite the loss, the Tigers were able to maintain their fourth place standing in the CAA. Although the Tigers fell to 14-11 in the CAA, they remained one-half game advantage over Georgia State and William & Mary in the CAA standings. The Panthers lost to William & Mary, 8-7. The teams are tied for fifth place in the CAA with 14-12 records. Delaware, which dropped a 4-3 decision to Northeastern, fell to 15-13 in the CAA. The Blue Hens are now seventh in the CAA.

The Tigers, who have lost three games in a row after winning 19 of their previous 25 games, will try and snap their losing streak when they face James Madison in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

The game time was changed in anticipation of weather problems.

Colonial Athletic Association Standings (Thru May 13)