NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University softball team (15-17) split a doubleheader with Siena College (9-19, 7-7) Sunday afternoon at Niagara Field. The Purple Eagles lost game one, 10-7, and shut out the Saints 7-0 in game two.

Sophomore Heather Lohrman (Newport Beach, Calif.) was 3-for-5 on the day while freshman Kristin Kill (South Portland, Maine) and senior Lisa Baker (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca West) were each 3-for-6.

Niagara returns to action May 1 when its hosts Big Four rival Buffalo at 3 p.m. at Niagara Field.

Game 1 - Siena 10, Niagara 7

One bad inning was the difference in game one as the Purple Eagles gave up 11 runs and committed three errors in the game.

Siena took a 2-0 lead in the first when Jennifer Granato hit a two-run home run to left field. The Saints then took a 7-0 lead in the second when they collected five runs on six singles and an error.

Renee Clavette hit an RBI double to left field and Easton Henrikson belted a two-run home run to center field to put Siena up 10-0 in the third inning.

Niagara scored its first runs in the fourth when junior Melissa Markle (Orchard Park, N.Y./West Seneca West) hit her second home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field.

The Purple Eagles cut Siena’s lead in half when senior Nicole Sum (Burnaby, B.C.) hit her team-leading seventh home run to center field to score three.

Niagara scored twice in the bottom of the seventh when junior Tory Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.) singled up the middle and then scored on a single by Lisa Baker. Baker then scored on a single by junior Jamie Constantz (Endicott, N.Y.). The Purple Eagles had the bases loaded with two outs, but couldn’t score.

Junior Brooke Viola (Los Alamitos, Calif.) took the loss, throwing 3.1 innings and giving up eight hits and striking out two.

Game 2 - Niagara 7, Siena 0

Junior Tiffany McCrory (Albuquerque, N.M.) picked up her fourth shut out of the season, throwing seven innings and giving up six hits and striking out five.

Niagara took a 4-0 lead in the second when Lisa Baker singled down the left field line, stole her first base of the season and scored on a single to left field by Constantz. Constantz then scored on a sacrifice fly by Lohrman. Sophomore Felicia Coffey (Mesa, Ariz.) doubled to left center and scored on a single to center field by Kill.

The Purple Eagles collected two runs in the fifth when Healy hit a two-run home run to left field after Coffey got on base with a Siena error.

Niagara’s seventh run came in the sixth when Constantz singled to right field and scored on Kill’s single to shortstop.