POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Niagara baseball team dropped the final game of its opening MAAC series 5-2 to the Marist Red Foxes on Sunday afternoon at McCann Field.
 
A majority of the scoring was done in the early innings as the Red Foxes (9-8, 3-0 MAAC) put a pair of runs on the board in their half of the first with a two-RBI double.  The Purple Eagles (4-19, 0-3 MAAC), who had left runners in scoring position in the first, tied the game at 2-2 in the third when Ryan McCauley sent his team-leading third homerun of the season into the seats down the rightfield line.
 
Marist took the lead back in the fourth with an RBI single and a sac-bunt before it added an insurance run in the sixth to come away in a 5-2 win.
 
Jim Fort (1-3) took the loss.  The senior lefty threw three innings and gave up four runs on five hits.  Anthony Caringi threw two innings and gave up the final Marist run.  Sean Quinlan and Geoff Soja split the final three innings and did not give up a hit.  McCauley collected the only RBIs with his homerun in the third and finished 1-for-3 with a walk.
 
The Purple Eagles play their first home games of the season this weekend when they host the Manhattan Jaspers on Friday and Saturday.  First pitch on Friday at Sal Maglie Stadium is at 3 p.m.