STONY BROOK, N.Y. (Interstat) — In a wild, back-and-forth non-conference baseball game defined by a massive early lead and a stunning late collapse, the Stony Brook Seawolves scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to walk off with a 12-11 victory over the Siena Saints on Tuesday evening at Joe Nathan Field.

The game, a rematch of a March 10 contest won by Siena 14-8, appeared to be a blowout in the making after the visiting Saints sent 14 batters to the plate in a disastrous first inning for Stony Brook. Siena scored seven runs on six hits and three walks against starter Ty Panariello and reliever Reilly Bridges, building an 11-0 lead before the Seawolves had even recorded an out. Matt Thorsen and Steven Ramirez each drove in two runs in the frame, with Ramirez doing so on a bases-loaded walk.

Stony Brook immediately began chipping away in its half of the first, scoring four runs, but the rally was halted by Siena reliever Matt Murtagh. Entering with one out and the bases loaded, Murtagh delivered the most critical performance of the game, throwing five shutout innings of no-hit ball. He allowed just one earned run, walked two and struck out one, single-handedly stabilizing the game and preserving what was then an 11-4 Siena lead through the middle innings.

The Seawolves’ bullpen, however, matched that effort. After Bridges, Luca Mannino, Matthew Canizares, Christian Martinez and Aidan Colagrande combined to hold Siena to just one run on three hits over the final eight innings. This pitching allowed Stony Brook to mount its comeback.

The Seawolves scored two in the sixth on a two-run single by Jack Scheri and two more in the seventh, capitalizing on a pair of Siena errors to make it 11-9. Siena’s offense, which produced 12 hits, was silenced late by Martinez and Colagrande, who struck out five over the final 2 2/3 innings.

In the bottom of the ninth, down 11-9, Stony Brook’s Mike Villani led off with a double. After a pitching change and a hit batter, Johnny Pilla walked to load the bases with no outs. Pinch-hitter Luke Ciminiello then delivered a two-run single through the right side, tying the game at 11 and moving the winning run to third. After another hit batter re-loaded the bases, a wild pitch from Siena’s Joe Saulys allowed Pilla to scamper home with the winning run, completing the improbable comeback.

Steven Ramirez led Siena offensively, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Matt Thorsen added two hits, two RBIs and three stolen bases. For Stony Brook, Mike Villani was 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Scheri drove in three.

The loss dropped Siena to 7-14 overall. The Saints will open a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference series at Marist on Friday. Stony Brook, which won for just the fifth time in 21 games this season, will host Towson for a three-game set starting Friday.