LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The Niagara baseball team took an early lead then made a late comeback in a back-and-forth contest but was ultimately edged by Siena in extra innings 11-10.
Niagara (15-25, 5-12 MAAC) opened the scoring with a three-run first inning.
Joel Klock and
Adam Wagner drew consecutive walks before
Eric Hink and
Ryan McCauley hit back-to-back RBI singles. Hink scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead.
Siena (16-29, 7-8 MAAC) got on the board with a two-run home run in the last of the third. A trio of RBI-singles from
Jon Wilson,
Jeff Calhoon, and Wagner extended the Niagara lead to 6-2. Each team added another run before heading into the Siena half of the sixth inning when, with two outs on the board, the Saints scored six runs on a pair of RBI singles and two RBI doubles to give Siena a 9-7 lead.
Both teams were held scoreless in the seventh inning but Niagara started its late rally in the eighth when Klock collected both of his RBIs with a two-out double to tie the game at nine. The Saints took the lead back in its half of the inning, but Niagara would tie things up again in the ninth when a
Wynton Bernard SAC fly cashed in Hink to send the game into extra innings tied at 10.
The Saints came out on top in the 10th inning with a two-out single, a stolen base and the final RBI single of the afternoon to come away with an 11-10 victory.
McCauley had a team-leading three hits as the junior went 3-for-5 at the plate. Klock and Wilson tied for the team lead in RBIs, each with a pair, but seven Purple Eagles had at least one RBI on the afternoon.
Klock started for Niagara and pitched 5.2 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits, while striking out four.
Geoff Soja received the loss after pitching 2.2 innings and giving up two runs on three hits.
The Purple Eagles are back on the field on Tuesday when they host the Buffalo Bulls for a Big Four doubleheader at Sal Maglie Stadium, beginning at three p.m.
