Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure brought the bats in the nightcap of a doubleheader against Little Three rival Niagara, earning a 10-6 win after suffering a 9-4 setback in the opener Tuesday afternoon at Bobo Field.
Sam Fuller went 5-for-9 with four runs scored out of the leadoff spot and the Bonnies blasted four homers on the day.
GAME 1 – Niagara 9, St. Bonaventure 4 | Box Score (PDF)
A five-run fifth inning erased an early Bonnies lead and sent the Purple Eagles to a victory in the opener.
The Bonnies used the long ball to build an early lead.
Gusty winds blowing out of Bobo Field created a power surge and gave the visitors the edge after three frames.
Sam Fuller led off the game with a blast to left for a 1-0 lead after one batter.
Peter Battaglia answered with a two-run homer of his own in the home half of the frame for a 2-1 edge, but the Bonnies soon led again on a round-tripper.
In the third, Tyler Kelder drilled his fifth home run of the year out to left center to push Bona ahead, 3-2.
Two innings later, Brandon Henshaw pushed the lead to 4-2 with a double, but the advantage would be short-lived.
A two-run single from Michael Gabriele tied the game and Battaglia put the Purple Eagles ahead for good with a three-run blast.
Fuller led the offense with a 2-for-3 effort, stealing two bases and scoring a pair of runs. Henshaw also posted two hits.
GAME 2 – St. Bonaventure 10, Niagara 6 | Box Score (PDF)
The Bonnies tallied eight runs in the first two innings to set the tone in the finale of the twinbill.
Three runs came across in the first after a single and an error set the table. Tyler Kelderbrought in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly before Jake Foden hammered a two-run home run to center for a 3-0 advantage.
In the second, the Bonnies sent 11 men to the plate and scored five times to break the game open early. The biggest blow came off the bat of sophomore Matthew Williams as he came through with his first career homer, a three-run shot to right.
Bona led 9-0 after another Williams RBI single in the fourth, but Niagara would make things interesting late.
The Purple Eagles got three runs in the fifth and, after an insurance run off the bat of Alexander Ferlenda, two more in the sixth.
The early deficit was too much for Niagara to overcome though as James Wetter was able to record the game’s final eight outs, striking out three.
Wetter (1-0) got his first win of the season in relief. Michael Krauza started and worked the first two frames, allowing no runs on two hits with a strikeout and no walks.
SBU pounded 16 hits in the seven inning game with Fuller, Ferlenda and Williams all picking up three apiece. Kelder and Henshaw each had two hits.
The Bonnies next travel to Saint Louis this weekend for a three-game Atlantic 10 series in Missouri.
Leave a Reply