BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Niagara University baseball team (17-18) defeated St. Bonaventure (16-17), 8-7, Wednesday in extra innings to win the inaugural Big Four Baseball Classic at Dunn Tire Park, in Buffalo. The Purple Eagles became the first team to capture the Bisons Cup.

An up-and-down ball game that featured six lead changes saw Niagara trailing 5-4 heading into the final inning.

Down to their final out, junior Reed Eastley (Brandon, Man./Neelin) drew a walk from Bonnies pitcher Matt Landahl, putting the tying run on base. After Paul Solini (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) reached on an error by third baseman Matt Mardeusz, Niagara sophomore Mike Alati (Vaughn, N.Y./St. Michael’s) drove a Landahl fastball to the rightfield wall, scoring both Eastley and Solini, and dramatically giving the Purple Eagles a one-run lead. Alati would later score on a sharply hit single to left by catcher Mike Medici (Latham, N.Y./Shaker), giving Niagara a 7-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

"I got a pitch that I could handle and I just tried to put a bat on it," Alati said regarding his triple "I guess it worked out."

In the bottom half of the ninth, with two outs and a runner on second, Landahl was able to hit a double to leftfield, scoring teammate Dan Bratys and making the score 7-6. With Niagara unable to get the final out, Landahl would score on an error by Eastley, tying the contest at 7-7 and forcing the game into extra innings.

In the 10th inning, with Vince Ircandia (Calgary, Alb./Central) and senior Tim Fitzgerald (Orchard Park, N.Y./Canisius) on second and third, respectively, Eastley reached on an error by Bonnies shortstop Eric Wilson, allowing Ircandia to score and leading the Purple Eagles to the 8-7 win.

Sophomore Kyle Nicoletta (Oakville, Ont./St. Thomas Aquinas) held on in the bottom of the 10th for the win, inducing a high-flyball by Craig King for the final out.

Although giving up the two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, the never-give up attitude of Niagara left an impression on many of the players following the victory.

"We blew it in the ninth and came right back in the 10th to win it," Alati said. "That just shows the heart of this team -- we never quit."

Not factoring in the decision, freshman right-hander Daniel Griffin (Schenectady, N.Y./Guilderland) pitched six innings, only giving up three hits and walking two batters. The freshman struck out a career-high nine hitters in the no decision.

As Niagara played the last three days, defeating Fairfield and Buffalo, coupled with Wednesday’s win, the Big Four Championship and the comeback win can be looked upon as a parallel to postseason play in the latter weeks of the 2004 season, according to head coach Mike McRae.

"We tried to use this tournament as a mini lead-up to the conference (MAAC) tournament," McRae said. "We talked about playing three days in a row and, when you’re down, we talked about coming back and winning ball games. The whole team held together (in Wednesday’s win)."