WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Greg Rodgers brought in three RBIs as the Purple Eagles scored seven runs in the first three innings on the way to a 7-5 win over the Monmouth Hawks for their first MAAC win of the season on Saturday morning.
 
"I thought we did a good job today handling the poor weather conditions." head coach Rob McCoy said. "We competed on the mound and had timely hitting. It was an all-around good effort."
 
Rodgers opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with a two-RBI triple. Joel Klock brought Rodgers in to score and a double from Taylor Hackett gave Niagara (6-17; 1-3 MAAC) a 4-0 lead. After a homerun from Monmouth (6-12; 3-1 MAAC) cut the lead in half, Rodgers collected his third RBI in the top of the second to extend the lead back to four runs, 6-2.
 
Niagara added another insurance run in the top of the third. Hackett led off the inning with a single to right. He stole second and advanced to third on an error. Geoff Seto came to the plate with a runner 90 feet away from the plate and cashed in with a single to center.
 
The Hawks scored a two-out runs in the fourth and fifth, but Jacob Lysiak  came out of the bullpen to end the fifth and shut out MU in the sixth to keep the score 7-5 and earn the save.
 
The game was called after six innings due to rain.
 
Jordan Schwartz started on the mound for Niagara and got the win after pitching 4.2 innings. Both Hackett and Seto went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run. Rodgers finished 2-for-4 and his three RBIs were a game-high.
 
Check back for updates on start times for the final two games of the series.