BALTIMORE – The Niagara softball team opened the UMBC Tournament on Friday afternoon with a 15-5 win over Robert Morris and an 8-0 victory over the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash. The Purple Eagles launched six home runs in the two wins.

Niagara (11-7) had an offensive explosion in its opening game of the UMBC Tournament. The Purple Eagles scattered 18 hits and belted four home runs en route to scoring 15 runs against the Robert Morris Colonials.

Maggie McDonald (Cicero, N.Y.) knocked out two of the four home runs in a 3-for-5 day; she finished the game with six RBIs. Kayla Hines (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Teresa Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.) each had a home run.

Kristin Kill (South Portland, Maine) went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.

Pitcher Julie DiMatteo (South Portland, Maine) (5-1) struck out four Colonials and gave up four earned runs in six innings of work.

In game two of the day, the Purple Eagles shutout the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash, 8-0, in five innings.

Kayla Hines (Clifton Park, N.Y.) hit a three-run blast in the first inning to put Niagara up 3-0. In the third inning, Hines drove home her fourth RBI in the game with a single. Healy followed with a two-run shot to centerfield for her second home run of the day.

Niagara would push across one run in the fourth and fifth inning before the game was called.

Michelle Krier (Kenmore, N.Y.) improved to 4-3 after dominating on the mound; she tossed a two-hitter in five innings with two strike outs.  

The Purple Eagles will play the host, University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), on Saturday at 1:45 p.m.