Richmond, Va.—The Niagara baseball team completed a four-game sweep of Richmond on Sunday in a big way as the Purple Eagles defeated the Spiders 18-5 in the series finale.
How it Happened
The Purple Eagles opened the scoring in the first inning. Kelly Corl notched the first hit of the game as he had a bunt single with one out in the first inning. On the very next pitch Eric Rataczak hit a towering homer to right field to give Niagara a 2-0 lead. Vincent Mauro then drew a walk to get a runner on base. After a strikeout, Mauri swiped second to get into scoring position. On a 3-2 pitch Matt Ward singled up the middle and drove in Mauro from second to give Niagara a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
Richmond answered back in the bottom of the first with five runs to give the Spiders a 5-3 lead.
In the top of the second Niagara was back in action as Brady Desjardins reached on an error. Nick Monile and Nick Groves then drew walks to load the bases. Corl stepped to the plate and drove in Desjardins from third with a sacrifice fly. Both Groves and Monile moved up a base on stolen bases to put runners on second and third with one out in the inning. Rataczak then drove a flyball to center field to drive in Monile from third to tie the game at five.
After holding the Spiders off the board in the bottom of the second, the Purple Eagle bats went back to work. Gavin Schrader singled to start the inning which was followed by Matt Ward reaching on an error to put runners on second and third. Tommy Takayoshi singled to left field and drove in Schrader to give Niagara a 6-5 lead. Takayoshi then advanced to second on a passed ball to put runners on second and third. Desjardins then came to the plate and doubled to drive in both runners to give Niagara an 8-5 lead. After a pair of outs, Rataczak stepped to the plate and singled to left field to drive a pair of runs into the put the Purple Eagles up 10-5.
Niagara was back in action in the top of the of the fourth as Niagara loaded the bases with a single, a walk, and a hit by a pitch. Desjardins drew a four pitch walk to bring home Niagara's 11th run. Monile then drew another bases loaded walk to give Niagara a 12-5 lead. After a pitching change and strikeout, Corl flew out to right, Takayoshi came home on the sacrifice fly. Rataczak drew a walk to load the bases once again. Just ahead of a 3-2 pitch Richmond attempted a pickoff at first base, but the ball got away and allowed Desjardins and Monile to score and make it 15-5 Niagara.
The Purple Eagles scored their final two runs in the top of the fifth. Schrader and Desjardins each drew walks and Niagara had runners on first and second with Monile coming to plate. Molie ripped a 3-1 pitch to center field that resulted in him notching his first career triple and driving in two runs.
Both teams were held off the board for the remainder of the seven-inning game.
Niagara Notes
· Niagara is now 4-0 to start the season. Based on available NCAA records, Niagara has never started the season 4-0 since at least the 1976 season.
· It is Niagara's first four game sweep since the 2021 season when they swept Quinnipiac at Bobo Field.
· Niagara's 18 runs are the most by the Purple Eagles since they defeated Fairfield 19-14 on May 27, 2022 in the MAAC Tournament.
· Liam Reynolds picked up the win for the Purple Eagles as he went 1.2 innings on the mound while allowing just one hit and one walk. He struck out three while getting one flyout and one groundout.
· Evan Wilde made his first appearance after missing all of 2023 due to injury. He went one inning while getting a double play and flyout.
· Ryan Minckler pitched the final inning for Niagara and struck out two in the clean inning.
· Both Rataczak and Schrader both had two hits while eight Purple Eagles had a hit.
· Rataczak had a Purple Eagle high five RBIs. Desjardins and Monile both had three RBIs in the game.
· For Desjardins the three RBIs is a career high.
· In 2023, Groves ended the season with a 24 game on-base streak, after reaching in all four games this weekend he has now reached base in 28 straight games.
· In the four game series, Niagara hit .313 with 36 runs scored on 40 hits, 23 walks, three doubles, a triple and three homers.
· Niagara had a .425 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .422.
· The Purple Eagles swiped 12 bases in the opening series.
· Niagara's pitching staff held Richmond to just over three earned runs per game along with a .204 batting average. They struck out 30 Richmond batters.
· This is Niagara's first non-conference weekend sweep since they swept Norfolk State in a three game set in 2017.
Up Next
Niagara will continue its 19 game road trip to open the season as travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on Queens in a three-game series. Game one is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 5 PM with game two at 2 PM on Feb. 24 and game three on Feb. 25 at noon.
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