NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles split their doubleheader with the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Tuesday afternoon at Sal Maglie Stadium.  Niagara came from behind in to take the first game, 5-2, before dropping the second game late, 8-2.
 
Game One
Niagara (11-17) was held mostly at bay by the Bonnies (13-12) throughout the first few innings of the opener, but stole momentum in the fourth and never gave it back, coming out of the contest with a 5-2 victory.
 
Facing a 2-0 deficit in its half of the fourth, Niagara nearly tied the game when, with one out on the board and Jon Wilson on first, Jesse Harris nearly hit a two-run home run to left but the wind kept the ball in the park, and left the Purple Eagles with one out left in the inning.
 
Jordan Schwartz responded with a single through the right side, giving NU two-runners on base with two outs to bring Thomas Rodrigues to the plate.  Rodrigues, a lefty, went with the wind and send sent a three-run shot opposite field to right and gave Niagara a 3-2 lead.
 
Joel Klock (1-1) forced SBU into a one-two-three inning in the fifth, allowing Niagara to extend its lead in the bottom of the inning as a Wynton Bernard triple brought Eric Hink around to score. 
 
Klock earned the win after throwing six innings, giving up two runs on five hits while recording a strikeout and a walk. 
 
Niagara padded its lead one more time as Rodrigues collected his second hit of the game with a triple down the right field line and would later score on an error. 
 
Schwartz came in in the seventh for the save, forcing a foul-out with the bases loaded, to give Niagara the 5-2 win.
 
Game Two
The Purple Eagles and the Bonnies played a tight game throughout most of game two, with Niagara coming from behind for a second time before St. Bonaventure was able to pull away in the seventh.
 
Unlike the first game, Niagara got the jump on St. Bonaventure in game two as Adam Wagner helped manufacture the first run of the game.  The senior singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error to give the Purple Eagles a man on third with one out.  Hink brought Wagner around to score with a sacrifice fly and gave his team a 1-0 lead.
 
The Bonnies were able to tie the game in the second with a SAC fly and take a 3-1 lead in the third with three consecutive two-out singles.
 
Niagara made its final rally in the fifth.  Rodrigues led off the inning with a single, and his fifth hit of the day, and would later score on a single from Hink, who had both of Niagara’s RBIs.
 
St. Bonaventure won the game in the seventh, scoring six runs on four hits, three walks, and three errors to take a 8-2 lead.  Niagara loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning but couldn’t get bring home any more runs, as it hit into a game ending double-play. 
 
Tyler Spear started game two, pitching four innings giving up two runs, only one earned, on six hits while collecting five strikeouts to only two walks on his way to a no-decision.  Geoff Soja gets the loss after coming out in relief. 
 
Rodrigues led the offensively going 5-for-6 on the afternoon, including his three-run shot in game one, with three RBIs and three runs scored.
 
Niagara is back in action this Saturday when it heads to Iona for a doubleheader beginning at noon.