Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara softball team used extraordinary pitching and a combined 16 runs to complete a doubleheader sweep of Manhattan Sunday afternoon. With the wins, the Purple Eagles improve to 7-25 (4-6 MAAC), while the Jaspers drop to 15-21 (7-5 MAAC).

Niagara 5, Manhattan 0

Junior Jennifer Sansano tossed a complete-game no-hitter for the Purple Eagles to shut out Manhattan, 5-0.

The performance is Sansano’s second career no-hitter, pitching one on March 2, 2012 as a sophomore at St. Bonaventure. The Clarence, N.Y. native struck out ten batters in her second-consecutive MAAC shutout.

The no-hitter was the first for a Niagara pitcher since Julie DiMatteo (’12) accomplished the feat against Saint Peter’s on April 10, 2011.

Becky Zill was responsible for four out of the five runs Niagara scored in game one. The senior catcher put Niagara on the board in the third inning with a two-run homerun over the left field fence. Zill added her second homer of the day in the very next inning with a two-RBI shot over the wall, moving her into a third-place tie in career home runs (24). Zill batted 3-for-4 with four RBIs and added two runs of her own.

Junior Aileen Hinton drove in the final run of the game in the fifth inning after entering the game for freshman Rebecca Saggiomo  With runners on second and third, Hinton hit what would have been a three-run home run, but one of the runners ahead of her was called out for not tagging third base on her way to home plate, so just one of the runs would score.

Niagara 11, Manhattan 6

Facing a 6-2 deficit, the Purple Eagles scored nine runs in the fifth inning en route to an 11-6 victory over Manhattan.

After compiling six runs to take a 8-6 led, the Jaspers chose to walk senior Becky Zill and load the bases with one out with senior Alexis Wayne on deck. Facing a 1-2 count, Wayne hit a base-clearing double to right center field, extending her team’s lead, 11-6. Wayne hit 3-for-4 in game two for her eighth multi-hit game of 2013.

Gabrielle Lustrinelli, Ambur Farmer, Desarae Maldonado, and Amanda Werth each added an RBI in the fifth frame. Junior Brittany Richberg drove in two runs with two-RBI single to through the right side.

Niagara was three batters shy of hitting through the lineup twice in the fifth inning, including a stretch of eight at-bats without an out.

Junior Kim Bryson threw five strikeouts and allowed eight runs in six innings for her first win of the season.

Niagara returns to the diamond tomorrow for a rescheduled doubleheader at home against Saint Peter’s beginning at 11 a.m.