NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - The Niagara baseball team hung with the defending MAAC Champions on Saturday, but dropped both contests in its home and conference openers at Sal Maglie Stadium. The Purple Eagles (3-13, 0-2) dropped game one to Rider (5-8, 2-0), 8-1, before losing in extra innings in the second game, 7-3.

The Purple Eagles received a pair of good outings from their pitchers, as junior Marcus Spaulding (Copenhagen, N.Y.) allowed two earned runs in seven innings and freshman Joe Candelmo (Orefield, Pa.) allowed three earned in six innings.

In game one, the Broncs scored four unearned runs in the fifth inning after a costly two-out error was followed by a grand slam by catcher Eric Woodrow. That hit game Rider a 5-1 lead, and the Broncs would hold on for an 8-1 win.

Niagara forced extra innings in the second game after a three-run fifth knotted the score at 3-3. The Purple Eagles however, left a runner stranded at third base with less than two outs in the sixth and seventh innings before allowing four runs in the top of the ninth.

"Overall, I think that we showed that we could play with one of the best teams in the conference," Niagara head coach Rob McCoy said. "However, we made costly mental and physical mistakes that you can;t make against a team like Rider. I am looking forward to correcting the erros that we made (Saturday) as we move forward."

Niagara was held to just five hits and one run in the first contest. Mike Petrowski allowed three singles in the fourth inning, including a laser into left field off the bat of senior Graham Skelhorne-Gross (Mississagua, Ont.) for his third RBI of the season. That hit gave NU a 1-0 lead.

In the second game, juniors Matt Wietlispach (Chicago, Ill.) and Jason Cramer (Jackson, N.J.) each recorded two hits, while Trevor Rutkowski (Crystal Lake, Ill.) plated Wietlispach and Cam Stykemain (Defiance, Ohio) to tie the score at 3-3 with an RBI single to right field.

The Purple Eagles and Broncs conclude their three-game series at Sal Maglie Stadium on Sunday at noon.