Freshman pitcher James Avery went the distance on the hill to lead Niagara to a 4-2 win and a split of Friday afternoon's doubleheader against Siena. The two teams will play the critical rubber game tomorrow afternoon as each aims to position itself in the heated conference race.

In game one of the twinbill, Junior Ryan Bitter tossed his third complete game shutout of the MAAC season. Bitter out-worked Niagara's Kyle Nicolette (Oakville, Ont) who received the loss despite only allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings of play. Freshman Scott King singled home Shawn Hapton with the game's only run in the fifth inning.

The Purple Eagles struck for two runs in their first at bat of the nightcap, enough cushion for Avery in the 4-2 win.

With the split, both teams move to 7-6 in the MAAC with Siena having an overall record of 9-26, and Niagara moving to 15-16.

The third game of the three game series will be played tomorrow afternoon at 12pm at Bobo Memorial Field.