Junior Nicole Sum is one of six Purple Eagles hitting .300-or-better this season. |
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University softball team (8-6) concludes its regular-season tournament schedule this weekend when it plays in the UMBC Spring Classic in Baltimore, Md. The Purple Eagles play St. Francis (N.Y.) at 9:30 a.m. Friday and Sacred Heart at 11:30 a.m. On Saturday, they play Brown University at 8:15 a.m. and then host UMBC at noon. The championship is slated for 3 p.m. Sunday.
Niagara has shown its offensive power so far this season. It is hitting .310 and averaging 4.2 runs per game. Leading the attack is the one-two punch of freshman Jennifer Yee (North Delta, B.C.) and sophomore Tory Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.).
Yee, a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week, leads the team in hitting (.550), runs (11), hits (22), home runs (2), slugging percentage (.825) and on-base percentage (.561). She brings a 12-game hitting streak into this weekend’s tournament.
Healy is hitting .476 with 11 runs, a team-best eight doubles, two home runs, a squad-leading 15 RBI, .810 slugging percentage and .511 on-base percentage.
Rookie Christine Howden (Peterborough, Ont.), junior Nicole Sum (Burnaby, B.C.), senior Shannon Mongalise (Bethel Park, Pa.) and freshman Heather Lohrman (Newport Beach, Calif.) all sport .300-or-better batting averages.
On the mound, the Purple Eagle trio of sophomores Tiffany McCrory (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Brooke Viola (Las Alamitos, Calif.) and freshman Katie Gleiser (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Maryvale) have a 3.09 ERA. McCrory leads the group with a 2.22 ERA, 4-2 record and 22 strikeouts. Gleiser has a 2.57 ERA with a 3-1 mark and 17 strikeouts. Viola is 1-3 with a 4.24 ERA and 14 strikeouts.
St. Francis (N.Y.) is 1-15 on the season after finishing with a 1-4 record in the Delaware State Tournament last weekend. The Terriers are led by Janine Valentin with a .240 batting average. Amanda Havdoglous has a 6.74 ERA and is 0-5 on the season.
Sacred Heart is 4-10 on the year after dropping four outings to East Carolina and Charlotte.
Brown was idle last week after competing in the Mason Dixon Classic. The Bears are 4-8 on the season after finishing with a 2-4 record in the Classic which included a 3-2 loss to Niagara on March 11. Brown is lead by Mary Seid who is hitting .405 with 17 hits and four RBI. Michelle Moses has a 3.18 ERA, 1-4 record and 26 strikeouts.
UMBC improved to 20-6 on the season after finishing with a 5-1 record in the Bash at the Beach Tournament last weekend. The Retrievers are led by Melanie Denischuck who is hitting .410 and leads the team in hits (32), home runs (7) and RBI (36). Kali Shirk has also stolen 26 of 26 bases for UMBC. On the mound, Lauren Nicholson has a 1.87 ERA, 8-0 record and 38 strikeouts.
Niagara lost 10-9 to UMBC in the Bash at the Beach on March 17.
