Poughkeepsie, N.Y.—The Niagara baseball team improved to 5-0 in MAAC play as they swept Marist in a doubleheader on Friday afternoon. Niagara took game one 19-7 while securing the sweep with an 8-3 win in game two.
Game One (W, 19-7)
The Purple Eagles opened the scoring in the top of first as they scored two runs with two outs in the first. Both Nick Monile and Kelly Corl drew bases loaded walks to bring in the first two runs of the game.
Rees Kozar started the top of the second inning with a single and moved up to third after a walk and flyout. With two outs in the inning, Kozar came across with the third Niagara run as he scored on a wild pitch.
The Red Foxes got on the board in the bottom of the third inning as they hit a solo home run to make it 3-1.
The Purple Eagles were back in action in the top of the fourth inning as Brady Desjardins and Eric Rataczak hit back-to-back solo home runs to make it 4-1 and 5-1 Niagara.
Niagara went back-to-back again in the top of the fifth as Matt Ward hit a two-run homer with two outs. Kozar then hit a solo home run to make it 8-1.
Marist pushed across its second run of the game in the bottom of the fifth as they scored on a sacrifice fly to cut Niagara's lead to 8-2.
In the top of the sixth, Rataczak drew a one out walk, Gavin Schrader then drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Vincent Mauro came to the plate and hit his first home run of the season to give Niagara an 11-2 lead.
The Red Foxes scored their third run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Purple Eagles lead to 11-3.
Niagara answered back in the top of the seventh inning as Ward and Kozar drew back-to-back walks to open the inning. With runners on first and second, Nick Groves singled to load the bases. After a popout, Rataczak singled home Niagara's 12th run to make it 12-3 Niagara. With one out in the inning, Schrader flew out to center which brought home Kozar from third on a sacrifice fly. Mauro then drew a walk to load the bases once again. Monile drove in the 14th Niagara run as he drew a walk with the bases loaded.
Marist scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning as Niagara still led 14-6 after seven innings.
In the top of the ninth, Schrader singled to right field which was followed by a walk by Mauro. Monile came to the plate and blasted a three run home run to make it 17-6 Niagara. With two outs in the ninth, Jake Hutchins pinch hit and doubled to left field to score Jason Green who pinch hit and was hit by a pitch. With the lineup turning over, Groves doubled to left field to bring home Hutchins with the 19th Niagara run.
Game One Notes
· Maximilian Ramirez IV started on the mound and went five innings as he allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out four batters. He picked up his third win of the season, he has a 3.77 ERA this season.
· Liam Reynolds went the final 2.2 innings as he allowed no runs on just two hits while notching five flyouts and a strikeout.
· Niagara had 17 hits in the game, the Purple Eagles are 13-3 when having 10 or more hits in a game this season.
· It is the third time this season that Niagara has had 17 hits in a game, it is tied for the second most in a game this season.
· Niagara hit a season-high six homers as Desjardins, Rataczak, Mauro, Monile, Ward, and Kozar all homered.
· Groves, Rataczak, and Mauro all had two hits as 10 Purple Eagles notched a hit including all nine starters.
· The Purple Eagles drew 11 walks in the game as Monile drew three walks to lead Niagara.
· Four Purple Eagles had multiple RBI, Monile led the way with five RBI while Mauro had three. Both Rataczak and Ward had two.
· Niagara is the first MAAC team to hit six home runs in a game this season, it is just the third time in the past five seasons that a MAAC team has hit six or more homers in a game.
Game Two (W, 8-3)
The Purple Eagle offense went back to work in the top of the first inning. After Rataczak and Schrader both reached base with two outs, Maruo singled home Rataczak with the first Purple Eagle run. Monile's big day continued in game two as he singled home Schrader to make it 2-0 Niagara.
In the top of the third, Niagara put five runs on the board to take a 7-0 lead. Mauro and Monile notched back-to-back one out singles which was followed by a Corl walk to lead the bases. Tommy Takayoshi then reached on an error to bring home Mauro to make it 3-0. Monile came in to score on a wild pitch as each of the runners moved up 90 feet. After a strikeout, Groves reached on an error that brought home two runs to make it 6-0 Niagara. After a pitching change, Groves advanced to third on a passed ball as Desjardins drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Groves made it 7-0 as he came home on a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the third, the Red Foxes had runners on first and second with no outs. The third batter of the inning drove one to center field that Groves made a jumping catch as he crashed into the wall. He held on to the ball and fired the ball back into the infield. Corl caught the ball at second base as the runner was caught behind second and third. Corl tagged the second base bag and fired to first to get the Red Fox runner on first for a triple play.
Marist got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning as they scored a pair of runs on two hits.
Kozar made it an 8-2 game in the top of the fifth inning as he hit a solo home run.
The Red Foxes scored their third run of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning as they hit a solo home run as they cut the Niagara lead to 8-3.
Neither team scored to close out the game as Niagara notched an 8-3 win.
Game Two Notes
· Gage Wheaton started on the mound for the Purple Eagles, he went four innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out two.
· Ryan Minckler picked up the win as he went five innings while allowing one run on five hits. He struckout six while getting five flyouts and four groundouts. He improves to 3-0 this season.
· It is the first time that Niagara has turned a triple play since at least the 2005 season.
· Mauro, Monile, and Kozar all had two hits in the game while Rataczak, Corl, and Takayoshi each had a hit.
· Five Purple Eagles had an RBI as Groves led the way with two RBI.
· The Purple Eagle pitching staff gave up just two earned runs while notching eight strikeouts, nine groundouts, and eight flyouts.
Niagara Notes
· As a team, Niagara is hitting .319 this season which leads the MAAC.
· It is the first time since the 2000 season that Niagara has opened MAAC play 5-0. In 2000, Niagara opened MAAC play 6-0.
· Monile is second in the MAAC in hitting as he is hitting .426 this season. Rataczak is third in the MAAC in hitting with a .420 average.
· In the first five MAAC games, Niagara is hitting .407 while opponents are hitting just .266. Monile leads Niagara in MAAC play with a .583 batting average, Groves is hitting .571 in MAAC play.
· Eight Purple Eagles are hitting over .375 in MAAC play.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles and Red Foxes close out the weekend series on Saturday with a single nine inning game starting at 1 PM.
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