NEW YORK (Interstat) — Manhattan erupted for six runs in the third inning and never looked back, defeating Niagara 14-3 in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday at home.

Justin Best homered twice and drove in five runs, leading the Jaspers to their 18th win against 27 losses. The Purple Eagles, who entered the day 24-17-1, had taken a 3-0 lead in the top of the second but saw it vanish in a decisive bottom of the third.

Niagara’s three-run second inning began with walks to Nick Cote and Tyler Vivacqua, and after a wild pitch moved them up, Matthew Ganschow’s sacrifice fly scored Cote. Shawn Cameron reached on a fielder’s choice, then Jacob Brooks singled through left center to drive in Vivacqua. But Manhattan starter Joseph Duffield settled in, allowing only four hits and three earned runs over six innings while striking out one.

The Jaspers answered immediately in the bottom of the third. Jackson Brinker walked, stole second and scored on Vincent Samuel’s single through the left side. Andreaus Lewis followed with a three-run homer to right center, scoring Samuel and Guriyandel Salva. After Best struck out, Hunter Sute reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, and Trevor Hansen doubled to left center to bring in Sute. Colin Basehore walked, chasing Niagara starter Gage Wheaton. Luke Glenn relieved but gave up an RBI single to Brinker that scored Hansen, making it 6-3.

Wheaton’s line: 2.2 innings, no hits, five earned runs, one strikeout. He was charged with the loss.

Manhattan kept pouring it on in the fourth. Samuel walked, Lewis singled and Best crushed a three-run homer to right field. Sute doubled down the left-field line, then came home on a throwing error by the shortstop after Basehore reached on an error. Brinker doubled to left, driving in Sute for a 10-3 lead.

The Purple Eagles got one back in the sixth when Tyler Vivacqua singled, advanced to third on a Jason Green single and scored on a wild pitch. But that was all they could muster. Ivan Epps pitched a scoreless seventh for Manhattan, allowing two hits but no runs.

Best finished 3-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs. Lewis also had a big day, going 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and five RBIs. Brinker went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. For Niagara, Jacob Brooks and Elijha Hammill each had a hit, but the Purple Eagles managed only six hits off two Manhattan pitchers.

The most critical sequence came in the bottom of the third, when Manhattan turned a 3-0 deficit into a 6-3 lead with six runs on four hits, a walk and two Niagara errors. That inning effectively decided the game, as the Jaspers never trailed again.

Manhattan’s Joseph Duffield (6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 K) earned the win. Niagara’s Rece Allensworth pitched a third of an inning and allowed one earned run.

The teams were scheduled to complete the doubleheader later Sunday. Manhattan returns home to face Long Island on Tuesday, while Niagara travels to Mercyhurst on Tuesday.