NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - The Niagara baseball team (10-22, 6-5 MAAC) dropped both games of a home doubleheader with Siena (8-22, 5-6 MAAC) on Saturday. The Purple Eagle pitchers struck out 24 batters in 23 innings, but the Saints squeaked out a 4-1 win in game one and a 3-2, 14-inning marathon victory in game two.

The name of the game on Saturday was pitching. Junior Marcus Spaulding (Copenhagen, N.Y.) struck out a career-high 11 batters in game one, but was outdueled by Siena's Will Hassett, who held the Purple Eagles to three hits. In game two, Siena pitchers combined on a two-hitter in the 14-inning win.

"It is disappointing, because we had opportunities," Niagara head coach Rob McCoy said. "The day could have been different if we could have cashed in on those opportunities."

Spaulding pitched all nine innings of the opener, allowing four runs, two earned, on nine hits and falling to 2-3 overall. He struck out at least one batter in the first six innings before striking out the first batter in the ninth.

In game two, Niagara was two outs away from picking up a 2-0 victory without the benefit of a hit. Siena's Kyle Sumple didn't allow a hit through the first six innings, but the Purple Eagles scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth inning.

Sumple started the frame off with a hit-by-pitch. Senior Graham Skelhorne-Gross (Mississagua, Ont.) advanced to second on a passed ball and to third on a ground out. With two outs, Cam Stykemain (Defiance, Ohio) grounded back to the pitcher, but Sumple booted the play for an error, then threw the ball down the right-field line for a second error on the play, as Stykemain advanced to third. Stykemain trotted home on the catcher's third passed ball of the afternoon for a 2-0 lead.

Freshman Joe Candelmo (Orefield, Pa.) pitched six innings, allowing two runs and three hits. The rookie couldn't get out of the seventh after back-to-back walks to lead off the frame. After a sacrifice bunt, classmate Adam Wagner (Defiance, Ohio) tossed a wild pitch that plated a run, then allowed an RBI-single to tie the score.

Wagner then struck out the final two batters of the seventh, struck out the side in the eighth and the first batter of the ninth for six K's in a row. He finished with a career-high nine strikeouts in five innings.

The Purple Eagles collected two hits in extra innings, but couldn't muster a run to balance the pitching performance. The Saints got a two-out single in the 14th inning, followed by a triple down the right-field line, scoring the winning run.

The Purple Eagles and Saints return to the diamond on Easter Sunday at noon.