NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – The D'Youville University baseball team fell to Mercy University in extra innings on Friday by a score of 3-2.
 
Senior Chris Auclair (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) got the start for the Saints and retired the Mavericks in order in the top of the first. He struck out the first two batters he faced in the top of the second, but a pair of hits and an error with two outs gave Mercy a 1-0 lead. DYU answered back in the bottom of the second. After junior Jonathan Simpson (Grand Island, N.Y.) led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch, redshirt junior Jake Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y.) drove him in with a groundout to even the game at 1-1.
 
Mercy retook the lead in the top of the fourth with one run on two hits off Auclair, but he induced a ground ball double play to avoid any further damage. The Saints got base hits from Simpson in the fourth and redshirt freshman Lucas Penner (Leamington, Ontario) in the fifth, but neither were able to score as the Mavericks retained a 2-1 lead.
 
Auclair kept Mercy off the board from the fifth through the seventh inning, ending his day with six strikeouts and just one earned run allowed on seven hits and three walks. In the bottom of the seventh, junior Colby Wilson (Webster, N.Y.) knocked a leadoff single. Simpson traded places with Wilson at first after grounding into a fielder's choice and then moved to second on a groundout. Junior Blaise Kolbert (Lancaster, N.Y.) then dropped a base hit into left, but Simpson was thrown out at home trying to score, and Mercy remained in front 2-1.
 
Redshirt sophomore Connor Joedicke (Bloomville, N.Y.) replaced Auclair on the mound and tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth without allowing a hit to keep DYU within one going to the bottom of the ninth.
 
Senior Alec Boucher (Essex, Ontario) drew a walk to start the bottom of the ninth. Junior Billy Morris (Lancaster, N.Y.) followed with a double to put the tying run ninety feet away and the winning run at second. Wilson then drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out. The next two batters were unable to bring any runs home, but with two outs and two strikes, a wild pitch allowed Boucher to score the tying run and place the winning run at third. DYU couldn't score the winner and the game went to extra innings tied at 2-2.
 
Joedicke struck out a pair in the top of the tenth to keep the game tied going to the bottom of the tenth, but the Saints were also held scoreless in the bottom of the frame and the game continued on to the eleventh. An error with two outs prolonged the inning in the top of the eleventh and a double broke the tie to put the Mavericks ahead 3-2. DYU was retired in order in the bottom of the eleventh and Mercy sealed the victory.
 
D'Youville drops to 2-3 in the ECC and 8-23 overall with the loss. They will host Mercy again at Sal Maglie Stadium on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m.