PITTSBURGH – The Purple Eagles nearly swept both games on Saturday but still earned a split after beating the Pittsburgh Panthers in the final game of the Panther Classic II.
 
“Our men played well today,” head coach Rob McCoy said.  “We were competitive with Toledo and ended up coming out ahead against a great team in Pitt.  Kyle and Jim gave us great starts today.  When we pitch and play to our potential we have the ability to be really good.”
 
Game One
Both pitchers cruised through the early innings as Niagara’s Kyle Olver kept the Toledo Rockets (7-10) to just one hit through his first three frames. The Rockets were able to get on the board first when they put up three runs on three hits in the top of the fourth. 
 
Olver no-hit the Rockets in the top of the fifth to set up Niagara (4-16) to take the lead in the bottom of the frame.  Logan Linder, who finished the early game 2-for-3 at the plate, led off the inning with a single and the next six Niagara batters reached base to bring in four runs to give NU the 4-3 lead. 
 
After being held without a hit again in the sixth, Toledo tied the game in the seventh with a sac-fly before it took the lead with a pair of runs in the seventh.  The Rockets held NU off the board down the stretch and added one more run in the ninth to come away with a 7-4 victory.
 
Ryan McCauley had the most success at the plate in the early game as the first baseman reached base three out of four times, officially going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.  Three Purple Eagles finished the game with two hits.  Olver (1-3) took the loss after he pitched seven full innings and gave up five runs on six hits.  Connor Sullivan pitched the final two innings out of the bullpen.
 
Game Two
Niagara got the jump on the Panthers (11-6) with a four-run fourth.  Christian Vangeison drew a walk to bring in the first run of the inning and get the first of his game high-four RBIs.  Greg Rodgers brought in a RBI with an infield single before Jeff Calhoon sent a two-RBI single to right field to finish the inning as the Purple Eagles found themselves with a 4-0 lead.
 
Jim Fort (1-2) kept Pittsburgh to two hits through the first six innings, allowing the Purple Eagles to add to their lead in the top of the seventh when Vangeison hit a three-run homerun to put his team ahead 7-0.  Fort started the bottom of the inning by retiring the first two batters but the Panthers finally broke through with three runs on three hits to cut the deficit to 7-3.

 
The Panthers added two more runs in the bottom of the ninth but Geoff Soja was able to shut the door for his first save of the season and the Purple Eagles held on to win 7-5.  It was Fort’s first win of the season, he went seven innings, gave up three runs on five hits and struck out eight.  Calhoon finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two walks. 
 
Niagara is back on the field this Tuesday when it travels to Olean, N.Y. to take on Little Three Rival St. Bonaventure at 1 p.m.