Loudonville, NY—The Niagara baseball team secured a series win on Saturday with a 6-4 win over the Siena Saints on Saturday afternoon.
How it Happened
In the top of the second inning, Matt Ward opened the inning with a walk and Gavin Schrader was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs in the inning. Both runners then moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. Kelly Corl legged out an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Vincent Mauro came to the plate and blooped a 1-1 pitch to center field, Corl had to hold as the ball was in the air and was thrown out at second base, but Ward scored with the first run of the game. One pitch later, Tommy Takayoshi laid down a safety squeeze to bring home Schrader with the second run of the game.
Niagara added to its lead in the top of the third. Brady Desjardins opened the inning with a single, he later moved to second on a groundout and to third on a throwing error. With Ward at the plate, Desjardins came home on a wild pitch to make it 3-0 Niagara.
The Purple Eagle bats added some insurance runs in the top of the fourth inning. Gavin Schrader opened the inning with a single down the left field line. After a flyout, Mauro walked to put runners on first and second. Takayoshi stepped to the plate and blasted a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to give Niagara a 6-0 lead.
Siena got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth as they scored two runs as they notched their first hit of the game in the inning.
The Saints threatened in the bottom of the sixth but left a runner on third to end the inning.
Siena made it a 6-3 Niagara lead in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI triple with no outs. Ryan Minckler then recorded a strikeout and two groundouts to leave a runner stranded at third base.
In the bottom of the ninth, Siena hit a solo homer with one out but could not make anymore of a comeback.
Niagara Notes
· Preston Prince started on the mound for the Purple Eagles and went 4.0 innings. In the first three innings he did not allow a hit. He finished his outing while allowing two runs on just one hit while striking out a season high six batters.
· Minckler picked up his fourth win of the season as he went 4.0 innings while allowing one run on four hits while striking out one.
· Steven Hospital picked up his first save of the season as he needed just eight pitches to record the final two outs of the game.
· Niagara stole four bases in the game with Nick Monile, Rees Kozar, Schrader, and Mauro all swiping a bag.
· The Purple Eagles have now won back-to-back games while having just one extra base hit in a game.
· Seven Purple Eagles had a hit in the game.
· Takayoshi drove in four runs while going 1-3 with a run scored. It is his third multiple RBI game of the season and his first four RBI game.
· Monile reached base twice, he has now reached base in 22 straight games.
· Kozar notched a hit for the eighth straight game this season, he has also reached base in 14 straight games.
· Desjardins went 1-3 with two walks, he has now reached base in 12 straight games.
· Niagara has now won seven series' this season with four coming in MAAC play. Niagara is 11-0 in MAAC play this season. The Purple Eagles are one of two teams in Division I to be undefeated in conference play.
· With the win, Niagara has tied their win total from last season while having 16 games remaining in the regular season. Niagara is just five wins away from tying the program record for wins (29).
· The Purple Eagles lead the MAAC in hitting this season as they are hitting .311 as a team. Despite not recording a hit on Saturday, Eric Rataczak still leads the MAAC in hitting with a .436 batting average.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles look to secure their sixth sweep of the season on Sunday against the Saints. First pitch is scheduled for 12 PM.
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