NEW YORK (Interstat) — Caden Young delivered a two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday, capping a late rally and lifting the Fordham Rams to a 4-3 victory over the Richmond Spiders in Atlantic 10 Conference baseball at Jim Houlihan Park at Jack Coffey Field.

The comeback secured a series split for the Rams, who evened their overall record at 11-11. Richmond fell to 12-12.

The game’s most critical sequence unfolded in the final frame. Trailing 3-2, Fordham’s Ryan Kirk led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single. After a flyout, he advanced to second. Richmond then intentionally walked dangerous hitter Tommy McAndrews for the second time in the game. Another flyout brought Peter Ocko to the plate with two outs, and he was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

That brought up Young, who had entered earlier as a pinch-runner. On a 1-1 count from Richmond reliever Justin Gay, Young lined a single into right-center field, scoring Kirk and McAndrews to trigger the celebration.

The dramatic finish overshadowed a masterful relief performance by Fordham’s Robbie Stewart, who earned the win. Entering with one out in the fifth inning and the bases loaded, Stewart extinguished the threat with a strikeout. He then proceeded to shut down the Spiders’ offense, pitching 4 1/3 innings of perfect, hitless baseball while striking out four. His dominance provided the stability that allowed Fordham’s offense time to mount its comeback.

Richmond had built its lead behind a two-run homer from Dylan Winebrenner in the top of the fifth. His blast to center field followed a single by Jack Wilson and gave the Spiders a 3-1 advantage. The Spiders had opened the scoring in the second inning when Ryan Recio doubled down the left-field line to drive in Phil Rickabaugh.

Fordham chipped away in the fourth. After a single and a walk, Joey Donnelly drove in a run with a single to center, and a fielding error on the play allowed the runner to score, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

Pitching dominated much of the afternoon and evening. Richmond starter Jackson Hinchliffe allowed two earned runs over four innings despite not surrendering a hit, as he struggled with control. Spiders reliever Dominic Ruggiero was sharp with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of hitless relief. Fordham starter Aidan Dowd took a no-decision, allowing three earned runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings.

The loss was charged to Gay, who allowed two earned runs in the ninth without recording a hit.

The result defied the pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 7-3 Fordham victory, while its ELO rating system gave Richmond a 54.6% probability to win.

Both teams continue their schedules on Wednesday. Richmond returns home to face Old Dominion, while Fordham hosts Wagner. Atlantic 10 play resumes next weekend.