The St. Lawrence University baseball team mounted a furious late comeback with five runs in the ninth inning, but Vermont State Castleton held on for an 11-9 victory Wednesday afternoon at Spartan Field.

The Saints moved to 11-11 overall, while the Spartans improved to 8-21 on the season.

After three scoreless innings, Castleton opened the scoring in the bottom of the third. A hit-by-pitch and a double-play ball brought home a run following a defensive miscue, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

St. Lawrence answered in the fourth inning. Gabe Albertson worked a leadoff walk and was replaced by Owen McClintock, who advanced into scoring position on consecutive wild pitches before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Eddie Morrissey to tie the game at 1-1.

Castleton reclaimed the lead in the fifth with a three-run frame. The Spartans strung together five hits in the inning, highlighted by an RBI double from Carter Dickinson, an RBI bunt single by Mikey Raby Jr., and a run-scoring single from Josh Misiaszek to make it 4-1.

The Saints responded in the top of the seventh. Morrissey led off the inning with a solo home run, and after an error kept the inning alive, George Proffitt delivered an RBI double to center. Jack Finnegan followed with a sacrifice fly to cap the three-run rally and pull St. Lawrence even at 4-4.

Momentum quickly swung back in the bottom half of the inning, as Castleton broke the tie with three runs to take a 7-4 advantage.

The Spartans added four more runs in the eighth inning, capitalizing on timely hitting, walks, and aggressive baserunning to extend the lead to 11-4 heading into the ninth.

St. Lawrence refused to go quietly in its final at-bat.

Eoin Morrissey opened the ninth with a single, and Proffitt launched a two-run home run to spark the rally. Finnegan followed with a double, and Nolan Widrick singled to bring another run home on a wild pitch. With the tying run at the plate, Matt Davis drove in a run with a single, and Eddie Morrissey added an RBI groundout to trim the deficit to 11-9, but the Saints' comeback bid came up just short.

Morrissey led the way offensively for the Scarlet and Brown, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Proffitt went a perfect 2-for-2 with a home run, a double, and three RBI, while Widrick added two hits, including a double.

St. Lawrence will look to regroup as it jumps back into Liberty League play against Ithaca on Friday and Saturday.