Sophomore Tiffany McCrory struck out 11 hitters in a 7-3 win over Sacred Heart Friday.

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Niagara University softball team (10-6) won both its games Friday to open the UMBC Classic. The Purple Eagles beat St. Francis (N.Y.), 9-1, and Sacred Heart, 7-3. With the win over the Terriers, Niagara head coach Al Dirschberger recorded his 200th career win.

The Purple Eagles return to action Saturday when they play Brown University at 8:15 a.m. and then host UMBC at noon.

Niagara 9, St. Francis (N.Y.) 1

Freshman Katie Gleiser (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Maryvale) pitched a four-hitter with five strike outs to earn her fourth victory of the season.

Junior Nicole Sum (Burnaby, B.C.) and sophomore Tory Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.) both hit three run home runs for Niagara. In the first inning, Healy hit her third digger of the season to centerfield to score junior Lisa Baker (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca).

In the third inning, Sum cranked a three-run home run to right centerfield to give Niagara a 7-0 lead. Freshman Heather Lohrman (Newport Beach, Calif.) scored on a Baker single in the fourth, and rookie Felicia Coffey (Mesa, Ariz.) had an RBI triple in the seventh to score Healy.

Niagara 7, Sacred Heart 3

Sophomore Tiffany McCrory (Albuquerque, N.M.) won her fifth game of the season with a three-hitter and struck out a career-high 11 hitters.

Niagara took a 3-0 lead in the first inning after scoring two of its runs on squeeze plays. The Purple Eagles made it 5-0 when senior Shannon Mongalise (Bethel Park, Pa.) hit a two-run double.

In the fourth inning leading 5-1, senior Kelly Flaherty (Hastings, N.Y.) singled and then Baker hit her first home run of the season to right centerfield on a hit-and-run situation.

Sacred Heart scored two runs in the seventh on a Niagara error.