NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - Amidst overcast and rainy conditions, the Niagara Purple Eagles softball team (27-19; 13-3 MAAC) swept the visiting Rider Broncs (12-32; 4-10 MAAC) by scores of 7-2 and 4-3 in front of 150 fans on Senior Day.

The series against Rider marked the one of the last times that Tiffany McCrory (Albuquerque, N.M.), Brooke Viola (Los Alamitos, Calif.), Jamie Constantz (Endicott, N.Y.), Tory Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Melissa Markle (Orchard Park, N.Y.) will don the purple and white. Head Coach Al Dirschberger wanted to make sure they got the perfect send-off.

"These girls have made huge contributions to the program and we wanted to send them off on a positive note," stated Dirschberger. "I think we did that and kept our momentum rolling for the MAAC Tournament."

The two victories helped this year's Niagara team to break the single season record for most conference wins with 13 and overall wins with 27. The Purple Eagles are currently on an eight game winning streak, as they have won 13 of their last 16.

Niagara 4, Rider 3
The second game of the series was close throughout, but it was Niagara that came through in the bottom of the seventh, with the game tied at three. Markle led off with a single, which coach Dirschberger then called in speedy Laynie Stillman (Homer, N.Y.) to pinch run for her. Kristin Kill (South Portland, Maine) got on via a fielder's choice and Felicia Coffey (Mesa, Ariz.) laid down a sacrifice bunt down to have runners on second and third with just one out. Freshmen standout Kristin Sito (Elyria, Ohio) hit a clutch single through the left side to score the winning run.

Niagara was enjoying a slim 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, until the Broncs galloped ahead by plating two runs. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Niagara called upon senior Tory Healy. In the midst of the rain, Healy crushed a ball to left center, tying the game up at three with her ninth home run of the season.

Senior Viola pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits. It was Cassie Stone's (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) performance in the seventh inning that shut the door on the Broncs for good. Freshman shortstop Maggie McDonald (Cicero, N.Y.) extended her hitting streak to 24 games, just two games short of making the NCAA Consecutive Games Hitting list.

Niagara 7, Rider 2
Rider took a 1-0 lead on the first pitch of the game, as Candice Harris sent a ball over the left field wall. After the first inning home run, Niagara would go on to score seven of the next eight runs to ensure the victory. With Markle on via a walk, freshman standout Sito launched her 10th home run of the season over the left field wall to take the 2-1 lead in the third inning.

After the Broncs tied it in the fourth, Niagara responded with six runs between the fifth and sixth innings. After Coffey scored on a Rider error to make it 3-2, Teresa Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.) walked, which set the stage for Tory, who hit her eighth tape measure shot of the year to give Niagara the 5-2 lead. Tory Healy went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while freshman McDonald pushed her hit streak to 23 games, with two hits in the first game. McCrory picked up her 10th win on the season, pitching the complete game, while striking out five and only giving up two runs.

The Purple Eagles will now travel to Connecticut for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins on Thursday, May 8th. The second seeded Purple Eagles will take on the third seeded Fairfield Stags at one p.m. on Thursday.