The eighth-seeded Lesley Lynx defeated the fourth-seeded RIT Tigers, 6-5, in 15 innings on Friday at PeoplesBank Park. RIT was eliminated from the 2017 NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional with the loss. Lesley will play on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. in a second elimination game.
 
The 15-inning game is tied for the fourth-longest game (by innings) in NCAA Division III playoff history.
 
In the bottom of the 15th inning, Lesley's Vincent Taliercio started the one-out rally with a single to second base. Steven DePalma singled through the right side, advancing Taliercio to third base to have runners at the corners. Then Ryan Pumphret hit a deep sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Taliercio for the game-winning run.
 
Lesley (22-18-1) opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when Mike Slaby hit a two-out RBI-single to center field to take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Lynx continued in the third inning with four runs to extend their lead to 5-0. Vincent Taliercio singled to third, and then Steven DePalma doubled to left field to put two runners in scoring position. Ryan Pumphret scored both baserunners with a two-RBI double down the right-field line. Matthew Warner followed with an RBI-double to left center, and then Jacob Cervantes hit an RBI-single to right center.
 
RIT's (33-9) Navada Waterman ended Lesley's Nick Iadevaio no-hitter through 4-and-2/3 innings with a single up the middle. Will Gorman then hit an RBI-single to right field to get the Tigers on the board.  A check-swing single to third base by Brett Kajganich scored another run and put runners on the corners. Iadevaio got out of the jam, but RIT cut the deficit to 5-2 in the top of the fifth.
 
The Tigers added one run on one hit in the top of the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 5-3.
 
In the top of the ninth, RIT put runners on the corner with no outs. A line drive to the second baseman and throw to first base to get the runner heading back turned two.
 
Then, the Tigers' Will Gorman, with a 2-2 count and two outs, launched a two-run home run over the right field wall to tie the game at 5-5.
 
After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, neither team scored from the 10th to the 14th innings.
 
Lesley will face the loser of the game between No. 3 Wheaton (Mass.) and No. 2 Shenandoah on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.