BALTIMORE, Md. - Junior pitcher Marcus Spaulding (Copenhagen, N.Y.) pitched a complete-game two-hitter in the Niagara baseball team's first victory of the season. The Purple Eagles split the first doubleheader of the weekend with Maryland-Eastern Shore, taking game one 2-0 before dropping the second game 2-1.

Spaulding's complete game shutout is the first of his career. He allowed a pair of singles and struck out nine batters while walking just one. The Hawks base hits came in the fourth and fifth innings, and the right-hander faced the minimum batters in three of the seven innings, including the final two and retired the final nine batters he faced.

"Marcus was great for us (Saturday)," Niagara head coach Rob McCoy said. "He proved today why he is one of our best."

Both Purple Eagle runs came in the second inning with just one hit in the frame. Junior Tim Cozier (Ajax, Ont.) led off the inning with a single through the right side. UMES hit the next batter and walked the next two, followed by a sacrifice fly by sophomore Brian Deering (Springfield, Va.) for a 2-0 lead.

In game two, the Hawks scored twice, once unearned, against senior Michael Kellar (Colifax, Ill.). Kellar allowed three hits and struck out five in the loss.

A pair of new faces for the Purple Eagles that came to the team from Elgin Community College provided the lone run for NU. Matt Wietlispach (Chicago, Ill.) doubled to lead off the second and eventually came around to score on Trevor Rutkowski's (Crystal Lake, Ill.) sacrifice fly.

"I expect more out of this team," McCoy added.

The Purple Eagles meet UMES in another doubleheader on Sunday.