BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Niagara baseball team (14-9 MAAC) dropped both games of a doubleheader at rival Canisius (15-8 MAAC) on Thursday, 11-10 and 12-8, at hitter-friendly Demske Sports Complex. The NU bullpen allowed 15 runs in four innings of the doubleheader.

The Purple Eagles took an 8-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning after a stellar 7-inning start from junior right-hander Marcus Spaulding (Copenhagen, N.Y.), but three relievers combined to allow seven runs in the eighth, putting NU in an 11-8 hole. Three ninth-inning doubles brought Niagara close at 11-10, but the Purple Eagles left the tying runner at third ending the game.

Game two saw Niagara go back to the bullpen to start the fourth inning, but the potent Golden Griffin offense pushed eight runs across to turn a 7-4 NU lead into a 12-7 advantage. Again, Niagara staged a final-inning comeback, this time all with two outs, but NU left the bases loaded as the tying run came to the plate in a 12-8 loss.

"I'm disappointed because we didn't show up mentally today, especially our pitchers," Niagara head coach Rob McCoy said. "We got caught up in the win-and-your-in situation and didn't play our game."

There were plenty of offensive heroes on the afternoon for Niagara, as both Trevor Rutkowski (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and Timothy Cozier (Ajax, Ont.) each hit a pair of solo home runs, one in each game. Rutkowski gave NU a quick 1-0 lead with a moon-shot of a home run in the first inning of game one, followed quickly by a blast off Cozier's bat for back-to-back jacks. Cozier gave NU a 1-0 lead in the second inning of game two, and Rutkowski's solo blast in the seventh started a rally that came up short.

Cozier and Jason Cramer (Jackson, N.J.) each collected six hits on the day, four in the first game. Brian Deering (Springfield, Va.) recorded five RBIs in the first game, including a go ahead 3-run home run to left field in the sixth.

Spaulding held one of the best offenses in the conference to just four runs, three earned, on seven hits in seven innings, but the bullpen squandered his quality start.

Niagara needed just one win in two tries, or a Thursday Rider loss to advance to the MAAC Tournament, but all three games went the wrong direction for Niagara. The Purple Eagles have two chances to make the Tournament on Friday, a win over Canisius or a Marist loss to Fairfield. Niagara would then have four more chances if it would need it on Saturday (a Rider loss in two chances or a Marist loss in two chances).

The Purple Eagles will turn to MAAC Pitcher of the Year Candidate Michael Kellar (Colifax, Ill.) to stop the slide and clinch a berth into the 2009 MAAC Championships. Kellar is 6-0 with a 2.65 earned-run average in seven MAAC games.