Niagara baseball hosts Iona for opening weekend

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

• The pregame ceremony will start at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 7 and will include a blessing of the field by Niagara University President Emeritus Rev. Joseph J. Levesque, C.M. and Vincentian confreres, a ribbon cutting ceremony and a performance of the American and Canadian national anthems.
• There will be a ceremonial first pitch before the Purple Eagles and the Gaels take the field.
• The Niagara University Student Government Association (NUSGA) will be hosting a tailgate on opening day. Food will be served from 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

• The Purple Eagles played a single game at West Virginia on Tuesday, April 3. Despite leading early, Niagara fell to the Mountaineers, 9-6.

• Greg Cullen leads the Purple Eagles, the MAAC and the nation with a .513 batting average. Cullen has a team-high 39 hits, which is also the most in the conference. He also has a team-high three homeruns and leads the MAAC in on-base percentage (.575) and slugging percentage (.750).
• Owen Dziados has a team-high 17 RBIs.
• Trevor McCauley leads the Purple Eagles in runs scored with 21, which is tied for the second-most in the MAAC.
• On the mound, Cody Eckerson (1-2) leads the Purple Eagles pitching staff in strikeouts with 39 in 28.1 innings pitched. He has an ERA of 4.45. Eckerson has struck out the fourth-most batters in the MAAC.

• Sean Scales leads the Gaels at the plate with 34 hits and a .420 batting average. He has the third-most hits in the MAAC.
• Lou Matarazzo leads Iona with 17 RBIs and Tyler Bruno has a team-high 14 runs scored.
• On the mound, Dan McBryan (0-2) and Schuyler Bates (1-5) have each struck out 22 batters.
• Joe DeRosa (1-4) has pitched the most innings (44.0) for the Gaels.

• The Purple Eagles host St. Bonaventure for a doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10.