SBU Sports: Baseball drops late lead to Niagara, falls in extra innings
The Stony Brook baseball team carried a 9-6 lead into the eighth inning, but Niagara stormed back to take the rubber match in extra innings, securing a 10-9 victory on March 8 at Joe Nathan Field.
Niagara jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, scoring one run in the first and second innings and adding two more in the third.
Erik Paulsen got the Seawolves going in the bottom of the third by drawing a one-out walk. Johnny Pilla followed with a two-run homer to right field, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
Vincent Mariella entered the game for Stony Brook in the top of the fourth and stranded two runners in scoring position.
Matt Miceli and Evan Goforth tallied back-to-back singles in the bottom of the fourth. After the duo stole second and third, Paulsen drew a bases-loaded walk before Pilla brought home Miceli on a sacrifice fly.
Following a 1-2-3 inning by Mariella in the fifth, Cam Santerre drove in Matthew Jackson with an RBI triple, tying the game at 4-4.
Niagara retook the lead in the top of the sixth, but Stony Brook answered with a four-run outburst to reclaim an 8-5 advantage. Jackson drew a bases-loaded walk, and Luke Szepek cleared the bases with a three-run double.
The Purple Eagles scored another run in the seventh, but the Seawolves responded again as Pilla drove in Miceli with an RBI single, extending the lead to 9-6.
Niagara rallied with three runs in the top of the eighth to tie the game and plated the winning run in the tenth, clinching a 10-9 victory on Saturday afternoon.
