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Steve Baldinelli
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BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Niagara baseball team outslugged Canisius in the opening round of the Big 4 Classic on Tuesday, advancing to the title game with a 9-6 victory. The Purple Eagles outscored the Golden Griffins 6-1 in the final five innings.
A pair of fifth inning home runs sparked the rally, and center fielder Frank Kurnik (Reno, Nev.) knocked in the tying run with a triple to deep center in the seventh inning and scored the go-ahead run during the next at bat. NU tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth and ninth inning to seal the win.
Brad Lueck (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) pitched 4.2 innings of solid relief to improve to 2-0 on the season. Right-hander Dennis Chachko (Oceanport, N.J.) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and snared a line-drive out of the air with a runner on third base to end the eighth inning. Mark Sikorski (Toronto, Ont.) earned his fifth save by pitching the ninth inning.
"Our guys did a solid job of bouncing back and not allowing our season to be defined by a tough weekend," Niagara head coach Chris Chernisky said. "We never gave up today and I'm proud of our resiliency against our rival."
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Brad Lueck
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Trailing 5-3 in the top of the fifth inning, Tim Alberts (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) led off the frame with a rocket home run to center fielder off former Purple Eagle Josh Sawatzky. Steve Baldinelli (Niagara Falls, Ont.) connected on a two-out offering to tie the score at 5 with a home run to right field.
Alberts led off the seventh inning with a single up the middle on a two-strike count. He came around to score on Kurnik's triple to tie the score at 6. Baldinelli grounded out to first base, but plated Kurnik for the go ahead run.
Baldinelli broke out of a 1-for-12 slump with a 3-for-5 performance, scoring three runs and knocking in two. Alberts, Jonny Smith (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and Matt Lucchesi (San Francisco, Calif.) each recorded two hits in the win. seven different Purple Eagles knocked in a run in the victory.
The Purple Eagles will take on St. Bonaventure in the Big 4 Championship Game Wednesday at 4:30 in Olean, N.Y. Niagara will be looking to win its second Big 4 Title, after winning the opening competition in 2004.
