LEWISTON, N.Y. — The Niagara Purple Eagles baseball team made history in more than one way Saturday.
Niagara defeated Fairfield 10-6 to secure its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in program history.
The win punches the Purple Eagles' ticket to the NCAA Tournament, where they will also be making the program's first-ever appearance.
Niagara entered conference tournament play after having won a share of the regular season MAAC crown. However, winning the conference tournament is what would send the Purple Eagles to the NCAA Tournament.
That's what Niagara did, winning all three games they played in Pomona, N.Y.
The Purple Eagles entered the championship series needing to win just one of two games against Fairfield to win the conference title. Some late game heroics made the difference for Niagara, with two two-run home runs from Eric Rataczek and Matt Ward breaking a 6-6 tie in the eighth inning. The two homers were part of a seven-run frame for Niagara, who entered the 8th trailing 6-3.
Saturday marked just the second time Niagara was playing in the MAAC Championship, with the other appearance coming in 2005.
Niagara's baseball team is the second Purple Eagles program to win its first MAAC title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, after the Niagara women's lacrosse team pulled off the same feat by also defeating Fairfield in the title game.
The Purple Eagles' baseball team will now wait to find out its NCAA Tournament draw when the bracket is revealed Monday at noon.
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