Niagara baseball to face Youngstown State and Canisius College

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Looking to pick up a pair of non-conference victories this week, the Purple Eagles baseball team travels to Youngstown, Ohio to battle the Youngstown State Penguins on April 24 before taking on the Canisius Golden Griffins at Sal Maglie Stadium on April 25. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., while first pitch on Wednesday is set for 4:00 p.m.
 
On the Field: Niagara Purple Eagles (12-20)

• The Purple Eagles are coming off a weekend series against Monmouth at Bobo Field April 21-22, The Hawks swept the series.
• Greg Cullen leads the nation and the MAAC in hitting, currently hitting .467. Cullen also leads the Purple Eagles in hits (54), doubles (10), total bases (77), slugging percentage (.658) and on-base percentage (.526).
• Owen Dziados leads the team in RBIs with 29.
• Peter Battaglia currently the leads the team in homeruns with five and is second on the team in RBIs with 28.
• Cody Eckerson has a team-leading nine starts for Niagara, while also leading the pitching staff in innings pitched (43.0) and strikeouts (49).

• Infielder/outfielder Blaze Glenn leads the team in batting average (.323), hits (40), RBIs (26), slugging percentage (.516) and on-base percentage (.442).
• Collin Floyd leads the team with a 3.90 ERA and has a team-high 60.0 innings pitched and 69 strikeouts for the Penguins over 10 starts.  

• The Golden Griffins are coming off a three-game series against the conference-leading Quinnipiac Bobcats last weekend. Quinnipiac won both games in the doubleheader on April 21, before Canisius earned an 8-5 victory on April 22 to avoid the series sweep.
• Canisius leads the MAAC in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.274), runs (239), doubles (76), RBIs (205) and slugging percentage (.408). The team also leads the conference in pitching categories such as ERA (3.99), hits allowed (262) and saves (11).
• Liam Wilson leads the team in batting average (.369), while also leading the team in hits (52), doubles (20) and triples (three).
• First baseman/third baseman Ryan Stekl has a team-best eight homeruns and 38 RBIs.
• On the mound, J.P. Stevenson has a 2.52 ERA in 10 starts this season while also sharing the team lead in wins with Andrew Sipowicz at six. Stevenson also leads the team in innings pitched (60.2) and strikeouts (62).
• Tyler Smith has seven saves this season, tied with Manhattan’s T.J. Stuart for first in the conference.  

• The Purple Eagles, who have won their last seven games against Saint Peter’s, travel to Jersey City, N.J. to battle the Peacocks in a three-game series this weekend. The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 and a single game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 29.