Junior Nicole Sum is one of five Purple Eagles hitting .300-or-better this season.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University softball team returns to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play Sunday when it hosts cross-town rival and two-time defending league champion Canisius College in a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Niagara Field.

The Purple Eagles enter the double header in second place in the conference with a 2-0 record. They improved their overall record to 16-8, splitting a mid-week, non-conference double header with Cleveland State.

Niagara, winners in 10 of their last 12 games, is hitting .318 for the season, and averaging 8.1 hits, 4.75 runs and almost a home run per game. Niagara’s trio of pitchers have a combined ERA of 2.87 and limiting opponents to a .250 batting average.

MAAC Freshman of the Year candidate Jennifer Yee (North Delta, B.C.) continues to lead Niagara offensively. The shortstop is hitting a team-best .575 and leads the squad in runs (26), hits (42), home runs (7) and stolen bases (7). She ranks sixth in hits, fifth in runs and second in home runs on the Niagara single-season lists.

Preseason All-MAAC pick Tory Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.) is second in hitting (.431) and tops the team in doubles (10) and RBI (27). She ranks fifth in RBI and doubles on the Purple Eagle single-season charts.

Starters Nicole Sum (Burnaby, B.C.) and Shannon Mongalise (Bethel Park, Pa.) are hitting .353 and .342, respectively, and both are in double digits in RBI.

On the mound, sophomore Tiffany McCrory (Albuquerque, N.M.) has a 1.76 ERA, 8-3 record and a save in 12 appearances. She leads the corps, averaging 4.1 strikeouts per game. Opponents are hitting .235 vs. the right-hander.

Classmate Brooke Viola (Los Alamitos, Calif.) has a 3.84 ERA with a 4-3 record in 10 appearances. In 58.1 innings, the right-hander is averaging 3.3 strikeouts per game and foes are hitting .251 off her.

Canisius sits in third place in the league standings with a 13-16 overall record and 3-1 MAAC mark. The Golden Griffins have won four of their last six games which include a split with Youngstown State Thursday.

Preseason All-MAAC pick Katie Miranto leads the Canisius offense. She tops the team in hitting (.358), runs (24), hits (34), doubles (6), triples (2) and home runs (4).

The Golden Griffins have six other players hitting .200-or-better, including Preseason All-MAAC selection Jess Martin who is hitting .294 with a squad-leading 16 RBI.

On the mound, Canisius has four pitchers who have made nine-or-more appearances and who have a combined ERA of 2.82. Sophomore Lindsay Garbacz had a team-leading 2.19 ERA and 4-4 record in a team-best 13 starts. In 54.1 innings of work, the right-hander averages 3.4 strikeouts, and foes are hitting .217.

Freshman Juliette Bowers and junior Courtney Piar have 2.92 and 3.0 ERA, respectively. Bowers is averaging 3.5 strikeouts in 16 appearances, while Piar is 5-4 on the season in 19 appearances. She is averaging a squad-best 3.9 strikeouts.