TAMPA, Fla. – Despite a ninth-inning comeback, the Purple Eagles (2-16) fell to the South Florida Bulls (15-7), 9-4, on Friday night.
Game Recap
- The Bulls scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and one in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead over Niagara.
- Dawson Bailey hit a lead-off triple in the fourth inning and a sacrifice fly from Benny Serrano scored Bailey and cut USF's lead to three, 4-1.
- A solo homerun from the Bulls in the fifth put them back ahead by four, 5-1.
- The Bulls added two runs in the seventh frame and two in the bottom of the ninth to take a 9-1 lead over the Purple Eagles.
- NU began to mount a comeback in the ninth inning. Vincent Mauro scored on a USF error to put the Purple Eagles within seven, 9-2. A two-RBI single from Josh Marchese scored Bailey and Serrano, putting Niagara withing five runs of the lead, 9-4, with just one out on the board.
- The Bulls, however, got the final two outs to win the first game of the series.
Eagle's Eye On
- Bailey, Marchese, Mauro and Brady Desjardins each recorded one hit for the Purple Eagles.
- Marchese had a team-high two RBIs.
- Evan Wilde (1-4) took the loss on the mound. Wilde fanned six and gave up seven runs on 10 hits in 6.1 innings pitched.
- Marty Cole struck out a season-high four batters in 1.2 innings of relief.
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles take on the Bulls on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Stay connected with Niagara Baseball on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on
Twitter,
Instagram,
Facebook and
purpleeagles.com.
