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NIAGARA UNIV, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles head into their final MAAC series of the regular season weekend against crosstown rival Canisius Golden Griffins with playoff implications on the line.
 
Niagara (16-27; 8-11 MAAC) currently sits in sixth place in the MAAC and holds the final playoff spot with a half-game lead over the Iona Gaels and a one-game lead over Manhattan. Both teams chasing NU have six conference games left (including this weekend) whereas NU only has three because its bye week comes at the very end of the season.
 
The Purple Eagles have several players who have found success this season against MAAC opponents. Junior righty Jordan Schwartz is in the top two of most pitching categories. He is second in opposing batting average, (.174), batters struck out (51), batters struck out looking (17), and starts (7). He leads the conference with 49.0 innings pitched in MAAC contests.
 
Two relievers sit atop the appearances leaderboard as Geoff Soja's 11 trips to the mound leads the MAAC and Jacob Lysiak 's 10 has him in second.
 
On offense, Joel Klock is tied for third with 12 walks. Taylor Hackett shows up twice; he's second with a .415 batting average and fourth with a .483 on base percentage.
 
Canisius (31-14; 14-4 MAAC) currently leads the MAAC with a one-game lead over Siena. Offensively the Golden Griffins are led by junior Connor Panas whose .352 batting average is second on the team, but leads the team with 13 doubles, six homeruns, and 41 RBIs. In all, six players boart batting averages over .300. The weekend rotation of Rohn Pierce, Alex Godzak, and Devon Stewart have thrown a combined eight complete games.
 
The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday that begins at 9:00 AM. Sunday's single nine-inning game begins at noon and will feature the 2014 Senior Day ceremony where the team will honor the seven graduating seniors. This year the team will honor Soja, Lysiak, Klock, Kevin Paulsen, Drew Fittry, Anthony Caringi, and Connor Sullivan before first pitch.