CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Niagara Purple Eagles staged a four-run rally in the sixth, but were edged in game two against the Cincinnati Bearcats 6-4 on Saturday afternoon.
Niagara (0-6) went into the top of the sixth facing a 4-0 deficit.
Tanner Kirwer led things off with an infield single and stole second to move into scoring position.
Thomas Rodrigues was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base with no outs.
Michael Fuhrman brought both runners home with a two-RBI double down the left-field line.
Greg Rodgers kept the inning rolling with a single of his own and moved Fuhrman to third so he could score on a sacrifice-fly by
Anthony Firenzi. Rodgers later scored on a throwing error on the pitcher on a botched pick-off attempt over to first to tie the game, 4-4.
"We're getting better with every game," said head coach
Rob McCoy. "Today was pretty clean all around, but our compete level needs to continue to improve. We have a talented group and we need to match our intensity with our talent."
A sac-fly gave Cincinnati (3-9) the lead back and a RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh bumped the lead to 6-4. The Purple Eagles moved a run into scoring postion,
Hayden Coll drew a walk and stole second in the bottom of the ninth, but were unable to get back on the board and the Bearcats sealed the 6-4 win.
Cody Eckerson started on the mound for Niagara. The southpaw threw five complete innings and gave up five runs on six hits with five strikeouts.
Ben Zaccagnino threw the final inning out of the bullpen and held the Bearcats to one hit.
Coll led the squad on offense with two doubles in a 2-for-3 afternoon and added a walk. Kirwer led both teams with a pair of stolen bases.
The Bearcats were first on the board with a three-run homerun on their only hit in the bottom of the first inning. Eckerson retired the next eight batters in order before a solo-shot in the third inning extended the lead to three nothing.
These two teams meet for the final game of the season series tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
