BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Niagara softball team split a pair of games at archrival Canisius on Thursday afternoon from the Demske Sports Complex. The Purple Eagles defeated the Golden Griffins in game one, 6-1, and lost game two 5-4 on a walk-off double.
Niagara (15-12, 1-3 MAAC) snapped Canisius’ 17-game home winning streak with a 6-1 victory in game one.
Freshman pitcher Julie DiMatteo (South Portland, Maine) struck out eight and allowed one earned run in the complete game win.
Kristin Sito (Elyria, Ohio) broke the scoreless deadlock with a third inning leadoff home run to left field.
In the fifth inning, Canisius (17-14, 6-2 MAAC) tied the game with a RBI single. DiMatteo got two groundball outs with the bases loaded to get Niagara out of the inning.
The Purple Eagles took over the game in the next inning. Kayla Hines (Clifton Park, N.Y.) drove in the game-winning run with a RBI single. Teresa Healy (Las Vegas, Nev.) followed with a two-run blast to left field for her team leading ninth home run of the season.
Hines was quick to tie Healy in home runs when she hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give Niagara a 6-1 lead. Hines finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
In game two, the Purple Eagles were two outs away from their first doubleheader sweep of Canisius since 2003.
Niagara scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead. Jenna Baker (West Seneca, N.Y.) and Healy executed a double steal to in which Healy scored on the play. Two batters later, Melissa Markle (Orchard Park, N.Y.) laid down a bunt that scored Baker from third and Sito drove in another RBI with a single to right field.
Niagara had a golden opportunity to increase its lead in the sixth inning, but left the bases loaded without scoring any runs.
Canisius had a hard time manufacturing offense off of starting pitcher Michelle Krier (Kenmore, N.Y.) until the final inning. The Golden Griffins put the first two runners on base before Krier was replaced by DiMatteo. Canisius scored one run on an error by Jen Hare (Tonawanda, N.Y.) to cut the lead to 4-2. The next batter hit a two-run double to score the win the game 5-4.
Niagara’s next match is at St. Bonaventure on April 14.
