Box Score Game One | Box Score Game Two

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Niagara baseball (4-6) split its doubleheader against West Virginia (6-6) on Tuesday, dropping game one 6-5 but coming back strong to take game two 5-4.
 
“It’s obviously a good win for our club to take one from a Big East Team,” head coach Rob McCoy said. “However, I truly feel we should have taken both.”
 
Niagara 5, West Virginia 6
In what has become customary for the Purple Eagles this season, Niagara jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. 
 
Eric Hink got the first of his two hits on a three-run home run after Kevin Paulsen singled and Adam Wagner was hit by a pitch.  Ryan McCauley got on base with a single and was scored on a Wynton Bernard double down the left field line.
 
The Mountaineers came back slowly, scoring one run in each of the first three innings while keeping Niagara scoreless through the fifth.  West Virginia took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when, after leading off the inning with a double, the Mountaineers scored one run on a passed ball and another on a RBI single to take the 5-4 lead.
 
“We played ourselves out of the game a few different times,” said McCoy.  “Moving forward we will cut down on the free passes on the mound and the defensive miscues.”
 
Niagara tied the game in the sixth when Paulsen was brought around by a Wagner double.  West Virginia took the lead back in the bottom if the inning on a passed ball and it would come away with the 6-5 win after holding Niagara scoreless in the top of the seventh.
 
The Purple Eagles were led by Hink who went 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs on his home run in the first inning.  Kody Kasper received the loss after throwing four innings, giving up four runs and striking out one.
 
Niagara 5, West Virginia 4
Game two was a back-and-forth affair.  Niagara once again took the first lead of the game, this time in the second inning.  Jeff Calhoon, who went a perfect 3-for-3, got the scoring started with a two-RBI single that scored Bernard and Joel Klock. 
 
Both teams were held to one hit in each of the next four frames until West Virginia tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run, two-out home run .
 
Niagara took the lead back in the top of the sixth after a SAC bunt from Jon Wilson moved the runners to second and third and a Calhoon single gave the Purple Eagles the 3-2 lead. 

West Virginia again tied the game in the bottom of the seventh but Niagara answered right back in the top of the eighth when Bernard doubled for his third hit of the game, and fifth on the day, then stole third before Wilson doubled to left field to put Niagara ahead 4-3.
 
“We continue to improve as a team as we search for our team identity,” McCoy said.  “We are clear on our goals, so it’s just a matter of establishing who we are.”
 
The Purple Eagles cushioned their lead in the top of the ninth when Hink singled to score Paulsen from third to put Niagara up 5-3.  That final RBI from Hink would become the winning run when the Mountaineers came within one in the final frame on a RBI single.  That was as close as they would get and Niagara came away with the 5-4 win.
 
Hink led the way on offense for Niagara, going 4-for-4 at the plate and driving in four runs.  Calhoon was also perfect at the plate and drove in one RBI.  

Jim Fort started the game and gave up two runs over 4.2 innings and struck out three.  Matt Munson gets the win out of the bullpen after throwing 3.2 innings and only giving up one run.  Jordan Schwartz recorded his first save of the season.  

Niagara is back in action on Friday when they travel to Farmville, Va. to take on Longwood in a three game series.  First pitch on Friday is at 3 pm.