POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK -  The Marist baseball team (8-16, 3-5 MAAC) lost leads in both games of a doubleheader with Niagara falling in game one 10-5, before losing game two 8-6 on Saturday afternoon at McCann Baseball Field.

Game One: Niagara 10, Marist 5

Junior second basemen Joey Aiola (Suffern, New York) was 2-for-4 with a team-high two RBIs. Junior center fielder Graham McIntire (Concord, New Hampshire) had one RBI and one run scored on 1-for-5 at the plate. Junior left fielder Matt Pagano (Cranston, Rhode Island) and junior shortstop John Brucker (Sparta, New Jersey) both went 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.

The Red Foxes got on the board early with a run in the first inning. McIntire scored off a Pagano single up the middle. In the second inning senior catcher Mark Brennan (Wallingford, Connecticut) scored off a Brucker double to left field, while a McIntire ground out RBI extended the Marist lead to 3-0.

Niagara scored a run in the fourth, and four in the fifth to take its first lead of the game. Up 5-3 in the seventh inning the Purple Eagles scored three more runs to take an 8-3 lead. Niagara pushed the score to 10-3 in the eighth inning with two more runs. The Red Foxes scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull within five. Aiola singled up the middle and Pagano and redshirt sophomore right fielder Zachary Racusin (Mendham, New Jersey) scored the final runs of the game.

Senior right-hander Chris Napolitano (Wall, New Jersey) pitched 6.1 innings in the loss for Marist. Napolitano (3-1) gave up eight hits and eight earned runs while striking out six batters. Niagara's Zach Kolodziejski pitched an efficient 7.1 innings in the win for the Purple Eagles. Kolodziejski gave up five hits and two earned runs while striking out two batters.

Game Two: Niagara 8, Marist 6

Senior first basemen Steve Laurino (Carle Place, New York) led the Red Foxes on 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs. Sophomore designated hitter Tyler Kirkpatrick (Eagleville, Pennsylvania) was 1-for-3 with one run scored. McIntire was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI, while freshman third basemen Ryan Lynch (Portsmouth, Rhode Island) was 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run scored.

The Red Foxes jumped out to another early lead scoring runs in the first and second innings. In the first, back-to-back doubles by Kirkpatrick and McIntire drove Kirkpatrick home for the first run of the game. In the second, Lynch singled through the right side and Aiola scored putting Marist up 2-0.

In the fifth inning Niagara scored three runs gaining a 3-2 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth Pagano grounded out for an RBI to tie the game at 3-3. The Purple Eagles had a huge inning in the sixth scoring five runs to jump out to an 8-3 advantage. Laurino had a three-run RBI triple to center field in the sixth pulling the Red Foxes within two, but they failed to get any more runs losing the contest 8-6.

Matt McCuen (1-0), who pitched 0.1 innings, picked up the win for Niagara giving up zero hits and zero earned runs. Senior right-hander Evan Davis (Little Falls, New York) pitched 5.1 innings in the loss for Marist. Davis (2-5) gave up eight hits and six earned runs with seven strikeouts.

The Red Foxes return to action on Sunday, April 12 for the final game of the Niagara series at McCann Baseball Field. First pitch is scheduled for noon.