GAME 1
SCORE	Niagara 8 – Cornell 4
RECORDS	Niagara (4-3) – Cornell (0-4)
WINNING PITCHER	Zach Cameron (1-0)
LOSING PITCHER	Colby Wyatt (0-2)
SAVE PITCHER	Alex MacKinnon (1)
LOCATION	Shepherd Stadium

 
COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. – The Purple Eagles won two out of three games in a series with the Cornell Big Red this weekend. Niagara has won four of its last five games.

Game Recap

• Cornell got on the board first in game one of Saturday's doubleheader with a two-run homerun in the bottom of the second inning.
• Niagara took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning with a huge three-run homer from Benny Serrano. It was his third homerun of the season so far.
• In the top of the fourth, Cole O'Connor went yard, giving Niagara a 4-2 lead over the Big Red.
• Cornell tied things up in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on an RBI single and a bases-loaded walk.
• Niagara, however, continued its momentum in the fifth inning, Dawson Bailey led off with a double to left field and Max Giordano reached base after he was hit by a pitch. With one out on the board, Michael Gabriele was walked to load the bases for NU. A single from O'Connor plated both Bailey and Giordano to put the Purple Eagles back ahead, 6-4.
• The Purple Eagles held the Big Red scoreless for the remaining innings and NU added on two more runs with a score from Bailey in the sixth and a solo homerun from Peter Battaglia in the ninth to earn the 8-4 victory.

Eagle's Eye On…

• Bailey had a team-high three hits and three runs scored.
• Serrano and O'Connor led the team in RBIs with three each. Both also had two hits.
• Bednarski started on the mound. He fanned three and gave up two earned runs in 4.0 innings pitched.
• Cameron picked up his first win. 
• MacKinnon earned the save. He struck out four and gave up just one hit in 3.2 innings pitched.

 

GAME 2
SCORE	Niagara 8 – Cornell 6
RECORDS	Niagara (5-3) – Cornell (0-5)
WINNING PITCHER	Jacob Bruning (1-0)
LOSING PITCHER	Spencer Edwards (0-2)
SAVE PITCHER	Yohn Zapata-Baez (3)
LOCATION	Shepherd Stadium

 
Game Recap

• After a scoreless first inning, the Purple Eagles had a monster second inning. Zach Cameron kicked things off with a lead-off double. A bunt from Mike Brisson advanced Cameron to second and Brisson reached base and advanced to second on an error, giving Cameron time to score. Brisson stole third and an RBI double from Cole Tucker sent him home for Niagara's second run. Tucker had time to score on a passed ball and a wild pitch sent Bailey across the plate. A sacrifice fly from Battaglia plated Giordano and gave Niagara the 5-0 lead over Cornell.
• The teams went scoreless until the sixth inning. Bailey had a lead-off homerun for the Purple Eagles. With Giordano on base, Battaglia doubled and advanced to second base on an error by the Big Red's catcher. Giordano scored on the error. Battaglia scored on another error by Cornell's catcher and Niagara led, 8-0, going into the bottom of the sixth frame.
• A sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh for Cornell cut Niagara's lead to seven, 8-1.
• A three-run homerun and a two-RBI double for the Big Red in the bottom of the eighth inning left them trailing the Purple Eagles by just two runs, 8-6, but Niagara held them scoreless in the ninth to sweep Saturday's doubleheader.

Eagle's Eye On…

• Bailey and Tucker led the Purple Eagles in hits with two each.
• Battaglia batted in a team-high two runs.
• Bailey and Giordano each scored twice.
• Bruning earned the win on the mound. He struck out a career-high 13 batters. He did not allow any runs and gave up just four hits and one walk in 6.0 innings pitched.
• Zapata-Baez earned his third save of the season. He fanned two in 1.0 inning pitched.

 

GAME 3
SCORE	Cornell 6 – Niagara 5
RECORDS	Cornell (1-5) – Niagara (5-4)
WINNING PITCHER	John Natoli (1-0)
LOSING PITCHER	Matthew Wiggins (0-1)
SAVE PITCHER	Seth Urbon (1)
LOCATION	Shepherd Stadium

 
Game Recap

• An RBI single from Battaglia in the bottom of the first frame gave the Purple Eagles the early 1-0 lead over the Big Red.
• Cornell tied things up, 1-1, with a solo homerun in the top of the third and took the lead, 2-1, after an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning. The Big Red added on one more run in the fifth and three in the sixth to extend their lead over Niagara, 6-1.
• In the bottom of the seventh, an RBI double from Bailey cut Cornell's lead to four, 6-2.
• Niagara began to pick up momentum in the bottom of the ninth. Brisson scored on an error by Cornell's left fielder and Battaglia had a two-RBI single but a fly-out earned the third out for the Big Red as they won the final game of the series, 6-5, on Sunday afternoon.

Eagle's Eye On…

• Battaglia and O'Connor each had a team-best three hits.
• Battaglia led the team in RBIs with two.
• Bailey and Brisson each scored two runs.
• Wiggins took the loss on the mound. He fanned five and gave up two earned runs and four hits in 3.2 innings pitched.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles play a four-game series at Washington State March 5-8, followed by a three-game series at Boise State March 9-11.

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