Stillwater, OK—The Niagara baseball team played its first NCAA Tournament game in program history on Friday evening in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Niagara fell to No. 11 Oklahoma State 19-7 to open the Stillwater Regional.
How it Happened
The Cowboys jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first two innings.
In the top of the third inning, the Purple Eagles pushed across their first run. Kelly Corl opened the frame with a single to left center. After a pair of outs, Nick Groves doubled to left field to bring home Corl with the first Niagara run.
Oklahoma State responded in the bottom of the third with four runs to take an 11-1 lead.
The Purple Eagle bats got to work in the top of the fourth inning. Eric Rataczak was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Gavin Schrader came to the plate and inside-outed the first pitch he saw down the left field line to put runners on second and third. Matt Ward then drew a walk to load the bases. After a pair of outs, Rees Kozar singled home a pair of runs. Nick Monile then dropped down a perfect bunt to load the bases once again. Groves notched his second double of the game on a 3-2 pitch to drive in both Kozar and Ward as the ball bounced over the right field wall for an automatic double.
After holding Oklahoma State off the board in the bottom of the fourth, Niagara scored again in the fifth. Schrader singled with one out and was then moved to second on a two-out single by Vincent Mauro. With two outs and runners on first and second, Corl singled to center field to bring home Schrader from second.
The Cowboys made it a 14-6 game in the bottom of the fifth inning as they scored three runs.
Niagara got one back in the top of the sixth inning. Monile opened the inning with a single which was followed by a Groves walk. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Rataczak ripped a single to left center to bring home Monile.
Oklahoma State added three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a 17-7 game.
The Cowboys added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make it a 19-7 game.
Niagara Notes
· It was the first time that Niagara has played in an NCAA Tournament in program history. Corl notched the first Purple Eagle hit in NCAA Tournament play while he also scored the first Niagara run in NCAA Tournament history. Groves drove in the first Niagara run.
· It was the first time that Niagara squared off against Oklahoma State in program history.
· Five different Purple Eagles had two hits in the game while seven of the nine Niagara starters had at least one hit.
· Groves drove in three runs in the loss, it was his 10th multi-RBI game of the season and his fourth with three or more RBI.
· Kozar drove in a pair of runs while going 1-3, it is the ninth time this season that Kozar has driven in multiple runs in a game this season.
· Rataczak has hit safely in seven straight games while reaching base safely in the last 18 games. Mauro has also reached safely in 18 straight games.
· Niagara notched 12 hits as a team. The Purple Eagles have tallied 10+ hits in 35 games this season, Niagara is 29-6 in those games.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles fight for their season against Nebraska after the Cornhuskers fell to Florida in the first game of the regional. First pitch is slated for 2 PM EDT/1 PM CDT.
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