HARRISONBURG, Va. (Interstat) — In a back-and-forth contest defined by timely power hitting and a pivotal fifth-inning rally, the James Madison Dukes edged the East Tennessee State Buccaneers 6-4 on Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Dukes, who evened their record at 7-6, overcame an early two-run deficit and a pair of home runs by East Tennessee State’s Tristan Curless to secure the series victory after a dominant 11-1 win in Friday’s opener. The Buccaneers fell to 9-5.

The most important sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the fifth inning, erasing the Dukes’ deficit and handing them a lead they would not relinquish. Trailing 4-2, James Madison’s Kyle Langley worked a walk against Buccaneers starter Michael Harpster. Shortstop Josiah Seguin then delivered the decisive blow, launching a two-run homer to left field to tie the game.

The Dukes’ offense, stifled after Reece Moody’s second-inning solo shot and Langley’s third-inning solo homer, immediately reignited. Ike Schmidly followed with a bunt single, and after he was caught stealing, Moody singled. Jack Guerrero then drove an RBI single through the right side, scoring Moody to give James Madison its first lead at 5-4. The four-run inning chased Harpster, who was charged with all five runs on six hits over five innings.

James Madison added a critical insurance run in the seventh when Schmidly homered to left field off reliever Derek McCarley, making it 6-4.

The Dukes’ bullpen preserved the narrow lead. After starter Luke Alexander allowed four runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings, Adam Horvath provided two perfect innings of relief with one strikeout. Luke McGrath closed it out in the ninth, striking out three batters around a solo home run by East Tennessee State’s Nate Conner.

Alexander earned the win, improving on his previous outing against Albany where he allowed three earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Harpster took the loss for the Buccaneers.

East Tennessee State had seized early momentum. Curless, the Buccaneers’ first baseman, hammered the first pitch he saw in the top of the first inning for a solo home run to center field. He replicated the feat in the fourth, crushing another solo shot to center for his second of the game, temporarily restoring a two-run Buccaneers lead at 4-2. Conner finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including his ninth-inning homer.

The result defied the pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had forecast a 7-5 East Tennessee State victory and whose ELO system gave the Buccaneers a 58 percent probability to win.

James Madison out-hit East Tennessee State 9-6. The teams will conclude the three-game series on Sunday.