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MAAC Championships – Game One
No. 6 Niagara (24-25, 13-11 MAAC) vs. No. 3 Canisius (31-20, 16-8 MAAC)
Wednesday, May 23 – 12:00 p.m.
Richmond County Bank Ballpark – Staten Island, N.Y.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The sixth-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles will face the third-seeded Canisius Golden Griffins in the first game of the MAAC Championships on Wednesday, May 23 at 12:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Tournament Tidbits
- This is Niagara's first appearance in the MAAC Tournament since 2006. The Purple Eagles fell to Le Moyne, 7-2, in the first game of the tournament before defeating Rider, 9-1, in game three. The Purple Eagles were eliminated after falling to Le Moyne again, 4-3, in game five.
- The Purple Eagles made it to the championship game in 2005, ultimately falling to Marist, 5-4
- This is the first tournament appearance for NU under head coach Rob McCoy.
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Player of the Year
- After a phenomenal season, shortstop Greg Cullen was named MAAC Player of the Year, announced on May 22.
- Cullen is the fourth player in Niagara baseball history to be named MAAC Player of the Year and is the first since 2003 (Josh McCurdy).
- Cullen led the nation in hitting for almost the entire season, batting .457. He finished the season with the second-best on-base percentage (.549) in the country.
- Cullen led the Purple Eagles and the MAAC in hits with 79 and runs scored with 50.
- Before being named MAAC Player of the Year, Cullen was profiled by Bucky Gleason of The Buffalo News. The article can be found here.
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All-MAAC Honors
- Cullen was named to the All-MAAC First Team.
- Outfiielder Trevor McCauley and third baseman Owen Dziados both earned All-MAAC Second Team honors.
- This is McCauley's second straight season being named to the second team. He finished the regular season with 52 hits, 40 RBIs, 12 doubles and a career-high three homeruns. McCauley is tied for second in the MAAC in triples with three and tied for fifth in the MAAC in runs scored with 42. He finished the season batting .286.
- This is the first time Dziados has earned All-MAAC honors. He had the third-most RBIs in the MAAC this season with a career-high 50 and led the MAAC in sacrifice flies with eight. He finished the regular season batting a career-best .322 with a career-high 55 hits.
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The Hits Keep On Coming
- Cullen led the nation in hitting for almost the entire 2018 season.
- Cullen finished the regular season batting .457, which is the second-best single season batting average in Niagara baseball history.
- Cullen led the Purple Eagles and the MAAC in total hits with 79. Cullen finished the season sixth in the nation in hits per game with 1.68.
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Last Time Out
- The Purple Eagles hosted Manhattan for a three-game series May 17 and 19 to close out the regular season.
- Niagara and the Jaspers split a doubleheader on May 17. The Purple Eagles took the first game, 9-3, and Manhattan took the second game, 6-5, in extra innings.
- The Purple Eagles defeated Manhattan 3-1 in the final game of the series to clinch a postseason berth.
- Sophomore Matthew Brash had a phenomenal game on the mound in the series' final game. Brash pitched 8.2 innings, scattering only four hits and allowing zero earned runs. He fanned eight batters, tying his career-high. Brash was named MAAC Pitcher of the Week on May 21.
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Niagara in the MAAC
- The Purple Eagles have the best overall batting average in the conference, batting a combined .289. They also have the most doubles with 108.
- NU is second in the MAAC in runs scored (328) and RBIs (298).
- The Purple Eagles are third in slugging percentage (.412) and on-base percentage (.381). They are also third in hits (486), total bases (691) and stolen bases (60).
- Cullen leads the MAAC in batting average (.457), on-base percentage (.549), runs scored (50) and hits (79). He is third in the conference in slugging percentage (.636).
- First baseman Peter Battaglia has the fourth-best batting average (.361) and slugging percentage (.602) in the MAAC. His on-base percentage of .448 is the third-best and his 48 RBIs are the fifth-most.
- Dziados has the third-most RBIs in the MAAC with 50.
- Center fielder Julian Gallup leads the league in stolen bases with 19.
- McCauley's three triples are tied for second-most in the conference.
- Cody Eckerson's 81 strikeouts are the fourth-most in the MAAC.
- Ben Erwin has allowed the second-fewest doubles (six), fifth-fewest hits (55) and sixth-fewest earned runs (27).
- Zachary Kolodziejski has allowed only three homeruns, which is the third-fewest in the conference.
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Last Meeting with Canisius
- The Purple Eagles and the Griffs met three times during the season for the annual Battle of the Bridge series. All three games were non-conference matchups.
- The Griffs took the first game, 17-10, on April 25 but the Purple Eagles came back to win the series. A walk-off triple from McCauley earned NU the 3-2 win in game two and the Purple Eagles downed the Griffs, 9-5, in the final game of the series.
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Canisius in the MAAC
- Canisius leads the MAAC with a .392 on-base percentage and also has a conference-best 356 runs scored, 307 RBIs and 16 triples.
- The Griffs are second in the MAAC in batting average (.279), slugging percentage (.418), hits (491), doubles (98), homeruns (38) and stolen bases (61).
- The Canisius pitching staff has the best overall ERA (4.44) in the conference and also has held opponents to the lowest batting average (.242).The Griffs also lead the MAAC in strikeouts with 396 total.
- Utility player Liam Wilson leads the MAAC in slugging percentage (.668) and doubles (25) and has the second-best batting average (.377). Wilson is also second in runs scored (49) and hits (75).
- First baseman Ryan Stekl leads the conference in RBIs with 57.
- J.P. Stevenson, who was named MAAC Pitcher of the Year, has the lowest ERA (2.46) in the MAAC and has the most wins with nine. His 85 strikeouts are the second-most in the conference.
Up Next
- The MAAC Tournament is a double elimination tournament. If the Purple Eagles defeat the Griffs, the team would face No. 1 Monmouth at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23. If NU falls to Canisius, the team would play the loser of game two (No. 4 Siena vs. No. 5 Marist) at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 24.
