Kevin Nesteruk

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY ­ The Niagara Purple Eagles scored four runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to earn a come-from-behind 9-8 win over the University at Buffalo in a non-conference baseball game played at Niagara on Thursday afternoon. The Bulls scored three runs in the top of the 10th on a three-run homer by senior Kevin Nesteruk (Cheektowaga, NY/West Seneca East), but the Purple Eagles stormed back in the bottom half of the inning and a two-out single by freshman Matt Fuller drove in the winning run to lift them to victory.

The Bulls opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI-double by senior Brandon DiCesare (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) and a sacrifice fly by senior Bryan Sanchez (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua). Niagara left the bases loaded in the second but then finally got on the board in the third on a two-run home run by Josh McCurdy and a sacrifice fly by Jeffrey Vincent. The home run by McCurdy was his 11th of the year to tie Niagara's single-season home run record. Vincent drove in another run with a single in the fifth to put the Purple Eagles up by a 4-2 score, but an RBI-double by senior Adrian Daniels (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) in the sixth and a two-out single by sophomore Joe Mihalics (Tonawanda, NY/Timon/St. Jude) that drove in two runs in the seventh put the Bulls back on top by a 5-4 margin. Niagara then forced extra innings with an RBI-double by Daniel Parsons in the eight that knotted the score at 5-5.

Nesteruk's two-out home run in the top of the 10th appeared to wrap the game up for the Bulls, but the Purple Eagles came storming back in the bottom of the inning. Mark Bomar led off with a single and then scored on a groundout by Greg Lehman. A single by Parsons and a double by Tim Fitzgerald also put runners across the plate, and Fuller's single scored Fitzgerald from second with the game-winning run.

Junior pitcher Dustin Clark (Adams Center, NY/South Jefferson/Jefferson CC) came on in the third inning and pitched 7.1 innings, allowing seven hits and just one earned run while striking out four. Senior John Sullivan (Buffalo, NY/Timon/St. Jude) took the loss after coming on in relief of Clark in the 10th and allowing the final two hits and the game-winning run.

The Bulls (15-30 overall, 4-14 Mid-American Conference) are at Central Michigan this weekend for a two-game series with the Chippewas, with single games on Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11 both beginning at 1 pm.