RICHMOND, Va. (Interstat) — Jacob Lee’s two-out, walk-off single to shallow center field in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted Virginia Commonwealth to a 4-3 victory over Army in a nonconference baseball game that stretched from afternoon into evening Friday at The Diamond.

The Rams, who outhit the Black Knights 10-5, rallied from an early three-run deficit and finally broke through against Army reliever Robbie Penswick in the extra frame to even the weekend series opener.

Army struck first, plating all three of its runs in a messy top of the second inning without the benefit of a hit. VCU starter Fenix DiGiacomo struggled with his command, walking Josiah Overbeek and hitting Jack Quinlan to load the bases. He then hit Zac Farrell, forcing in the game’s first run. A bases-loaded walk to Thomas Schreck made it 2-0 and chased DiGiacomo from the game.

Nick Frers entered in relief for the Rams but immediately allowed another run on a fielder’s choice before inducing an inning-ending double play. Army’s early 3-0 lead was built on two walks, two hit batters and a single.

VCU began chipping away in the bottom of the second. Nate Kirkpatrick sparked the rally with a double and scored on Alec Warden’s RBI single. The Rams then drew even in the fourth. Kirkpatrick struck again with a one-out double, and after a fielder’s choice, Trent Adelman delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single up the middle to knot the score at 3-3.

The game then settled into a pitchers’ duel, with both bullpens navigating threats. Army’s Andrew Berg started and worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He was relieved by Mark Abell and later Penswick, who took the loss. The VCU relief corps of Frers, Bryce Carter, Cooper Weygandt and Brody Leyboldt combined for 8 1/3 innings of scoreless, two-hit ball, striking out six and walking three after the early exit by DiGiacomo.

Army had a prime opportunity to break the tie in the top of the ninth. Overbeek led off with a single and was sacrificed to second. After a hit-by-pitch, the Black Knights had runners on first and second with one out. Leyboldt, however, escaped the jam with a flyout and a strikeout to send the game to extras.

In the bottom of the 10th, Dante DeFranco led off with a single against Penswick. A sacrifice bunt moved him to second. After an intentional walk to Michael Petite and a strikeout, Lee stepped to the plate with two outs. He punched a 1-2 pitch into center field, easily scoring DeFranco from second and triggering the celebration for the home team.

The most important sequence of the game was VCU’s relentless bottom of the 10th. Facing the potential of stranding the winning run in scoring position after a leadoff single and a sacrifice, the Rams instead showed patience and timely hitting. The intentional walk to set up a force play backfired when Penswick struck out Quinn Maher for the second out, bringing Lee to the plate with the bases loaded. Lee, who had grounded out and struck out twice previously, delivered the game-winning hit on a two-strike count, capping the comeback and negating Army’s early advantage.

Leyboldt earned the win for VCU, now 6-8. Army fell to 5-5. The teams are scheduled to continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon.