POMONA, N.Y. – The No. 6 Purple Eagles (20-31, 13-11 MAAC) defeated No. 4 Monmouth (24-27, 12-10 MAAC), 9-4, in the first elimination game of the MAAC Championships on Wednesday. Niagara's victory is its first victory in the MAAC Tournament since defeating Rider in 2006.

Game Recap

• Dawson Bailey went yard on the first pitch of the game, giving Niagara a 1-0 lead and starting a monster first inning for the Purple Eagles.
• An RBI single from Josh Marchese and an RBI double from Max Giordano gave NU a 3-0 lead over the Hawks.
• Matt Ward then tripled to center field, plating two runs to extend the NU lead, 5-0.
• A two-run homerun from Spencer Marcus gave the Purple Eagles a seven-run lead, 7-0
• Niagara batted around in the first inning and Bailey scored the final run of the first inning for Niagara, crossing home after a Monmouth error to put Niagara ahead, 8-0.
• Niagara extended its lead to 9-0 in the fourth inning after Cole O'Connor scored on a Hawks error.
• The Hawks scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut into the NU lead, 9-4.
• Monmouth scored one more run in the bottom of the ninth, but Niagara came away with the victory to advance in the 2022 MAAC Championships.

Eagle's Eye On

• Cole Tucker led the Purple Eagles in hits with three and Bailey had two hits.
• Matt Ward and Marcus led the team in RBIs with two each.
• Jacob Bruning (3-4) had a strong outing, fanning four in 5.0 innings pitched. He gave up just two earned runs on three hits.
• Ben Erwin earned his third save of the season, striking out six and allowing one run on three hits in 3.2 innings pitched.

Up Next

• Niagara continues on in the elimination bracket on Thursday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m. The Purple Eagles will face the lowest-remaining losing seed.

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