LOUDONVILLE, NY – Following relocations and rainouts, Siena Baseball is finally set to play its first weekend series at Connors Park this spring. The Saints are ready to host upstart Niagara in a pivotal early three-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference series Friday-Sunday in Loudonville.
The three-game series starts Friday at 3 p.m., with Saturday's contest scheduled for 1 p.m., and Sunday's series finale at noon. Friday's opener will air on Siena All-Access, while the final two games of the series will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Altieri on the call.
Siena (6-26, 3-6) returns to the Capital Region having played just four home games to date so far all spring, the first three of which were relocated more than an hour south of campus due to ongoing inclement weather and subsequent field conditions. The Saints swept MAAC rival Quinnipiac in their de facto home and conference-opening series Mar. 28-29, which was moved to Bard College, and played their only game to date this spring at Connors Park vs. crosstown foe UAlbany on Apr. 2. The Saints most recent scheduled home game vs. Army West Point on Apr. 3 was canceled due to weather.
Siena now returns to the friendly confines of Connors Park for a five-game homestand spanning just six days, looking to build off a complete 9-2 victory at Dartmouth Tuesday which snapped a seven-game losing streak. All nine batters registered hits in the win over the Big Green, while five hurlers combined to post staff season-bests of both fewest hits (four) and runs allowed.
Danny Barbero and
Tyler Figueroa continued their torrid stretches to pace the offense Wednesday, with Barbero homering for the fourth straight game and Figueroa leaving the year for the second contest during that stretch. Barbero has hit five home runs – all to the opposite field – over that four-game span, while Figueroa has added three long balls. Named the MAAC Rookie of the Week for a program record-tying third time Monday, Figueroa leads the Saints hitting .406 so far in league action.
Niagara (22-10, 9-0) returns to Loudonville for the first time in three years atop the conference standings following the best MAAC start in program history. Predicted to place sixth according to the MAAC Preseason Poll after finishing fifth last season, the Purple Eagles have won 12 straight conference regular season games dating back to last spring. Niagara enters the weekend percentage points ahead of reigning MAAC Tournament Champion Rider and a game clear of Fairfield in a tight race. Siena meanwhile, which was predicted to finish 10
th, enters the weekend in a logjam in the lower-middle of the standings with three others teams who join the Saints with identical .333 league winning percentages.
This weekend pits two of the conference's best offenses to date going head-to-head. Niagara currently leads the MAAC in batting average (.316 – 21
st nationally), scoring (8.8 – 21
st nationally), and on-base percentage (.421 – 28
th nationally), while ranking second in home runs (40), total bases (553), and slugging percentage (.487). Meanwhile, Siena stands third in both home runs (37) and slugging percentage (.435), and fourth in both average (.265) and on-base percentage (.376) amongst the conference's 11 teams.
Siena and Niagara renew acquaintances this year after not meeting in 2023 due to the MAAC double-bye. The Purple Eagles have prevailed in six of the past eight matchups, although six of the games have been decided by two runs or less including a pair in extra-innings. Prior to the recent Niagara success, the Saints had won 19 of the previous 23 meetings between the programs from 2011-19.
