Stillwater, OK—The Niagara baseball team saw its season come to an end as the Purple Eagles fell to No. 25 Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament. The Purple Eagles fell to the Cornhuskers 7-5.
How it Happened
The Purple Eagles were the home team on Saturday and set the Cornhuskers down 1,2,3 in the top of the first inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Nick Groves was hit by a pitch to open the inning which was followed by a single by Brady Desjardins to put runners on the corners for Eric Rataczak. Rataczak blasted his program-record 17th homer of the season over the left-center field wall to give Niagara an early 3-0 lead.
Niagara added to its lead in the bottom of the second inning. Vincent Mauro led off the inning with a double and then was moved to third on a flyout by Rees Kozar. With the lineup turning over, Groves drove the first pitch he saw to right center to bring home Mauro on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 Niagara.
Nebraska got on the board in the top of the third. The Cornhuskers hit a three-run homer to make it a 4-3 game.
The Cornhuskers took a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly and a solo home run.
The Purple Eagles quickly responded in the bottom of the fifth inning. On the first pitch of the frame, Desjardins hit a solo homer down the left-field line to tie the game at five.
Nebraska capitalized on a Niagara error in the top of the sixth inning to take a 6-5 lead. The Cornhuskers opened the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run to take a 7-5 lead.
The Purple Eagles could not make a comeback and fell 7-5 to the Cornhuskers.
Niagara Notes
· Blake MacMillan started on the mound for Niagara, he struck out two batters while giving up three runs on two hits in three innings of work.
· Zach Cameron closed out his Niagara career by allowing just two hits and one run in four innings on the mound. He struck out five batters. He finishes his time at Niagara with 81 appearances, a 3.65 ERA, 176 strikeouts, a .233 opposing batting average, a 16-4 record, and a program-best 25 career saves.
· Desjardins went 3-4 with a homer and two runs scored in his final game as a Purple Eagle. He finishes the season with career highs in homers, RBI, doubles, batting average, runs scored, hits, on-base percentage, and walks.
· Rataczak broke the program record for single-season home runs as he hit his 17th homer of the season against Nebraska. He finishes the season with a .396 average which is the fourth best in program history along with a program record 71 RBI. He also finishes the season with 59 runs scored and 88 hits which are both Niagara single-season records.
· Seven players who played in 30 or more games finished the season with a batting average better than .300 while 10 players finished with a batting average over .270.
· Niagara as a team hit .305 on the season while opponents hit just .264.
· The Purple Eagles hit 71 home runs this season while averaging 8.3 runs per game which was 31st in the country.
· As a team, Niagara finishes the season with a program-best 38 wins while capturing its first MAAC Championship while also appearing in its first NCAA Tournament in program history.
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