LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (Interstat) — The Siena Saints staged a stunning five-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to stun the Fairfield Stags 7-6 in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday.

Trailing 6-2 entering their final at-bat, the Saints sent 11 men to the plate, capitalizing on timely hitting, patient at-bats and a critical Fairfield error to complete the comeback and open the series with a dramatic victory.

The game’s decisive moment unfolded in the ninth. Siena’s Randy Thorsen led off with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a walk, pinch-hitter Aris Camacho delivered an RBI double to left center, scoring Thorsen to cut the deficit to 6-5. Aiden Thorburn followed with a single through the right side, driving in the tying run.

With the bases loaded later in the inning and the score still knotted at 6-6, Vincent Venditti drew a walk to force in the winning run, sending the home team into celebration.

The collapse negated a strong offensive performance from Fairfield, which banged out 11 hits. Matthew Bucciero led the way, going 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Luke Nomura also had three hits and scored twice. The Stags built their lead with single runs in the second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings, consistently answering Siena’s early efforts.

Siena chipped away initially. They scored two in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Kobe Paradine and an RBI single from Brett Thorsen. Danny Sparks hit a solo home run in the fifth, and Paradine added another solo shot in the eighth, setting the stage for the ninth-inning theatrics.

Paradine finished 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs for the Saints, who tallied 14 hits as a team. Sparks reached base four times, scoring twice and driving in two, including the game-winning walk.

The loss extended a difficult start to the season for Fairfield, which fell to 1-9 overall. The Stags had won their previous game on March 1 but have struggled to find consistency. Siena improved to 5-7, capturing its third win in the last four contests.

The two teams were scheduled to conclude the doubleheader later Friday.