Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

LAWERENCEVILLE, N.Y. – Niagara softball outscored MAAC rival Rider 14-2 en route to a doubleheader sweep Saturday afternoon, 5-1 and 9-1. With the victories, Niagara improves to 13-25 (8-6 MAAC), while Rider falls to 8-38 (3-11 MAAC).

Niagara 5, Rider 1

The Purple Eagles scattered five runs on 12 hits to beat the Broncs, 5-1. 

Junior Jennifer Sansano (9-9) held the Broncs hitless through 6.2 innings, but a two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh brokeup what could have been the hurlers’ third-career complete-game no-hitter. 

Junior Brittany Richberg did all she could to secure Sansano’s second no-no as a Purple Eagle, making two big plays to keep Rider off the board. But with two outs, MAAC-leading hitter Kehli Washington blooped a single to center field, scoring the Broncs’ only run of the game.

Niagara took a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a solo homer over the left field wall from junior Aileen Hinton  her first of the season. With a run scored in the fourth, NU would extend its lead 5-0 off back-to-back RBI singles from freshman Rebecca Saggiomo and Richberg.

Sophomore Amanda Werth batted a perfect 5-for-5 with two RBIs on the day including 2-for-2 with two walks and a run scored in game one. In her last four games, Werth owns a .769 batting average (10-for-13).

Richberg recorded her 14^th multi-hit game, hitting 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run of her own.

Sansano finished game one with 11 strikeouts to earn her fifth consecutive win, her seventh double-digit strikeout game this season.

Niagara 9, Rider 1

Amanda Werth’s first inning two-run double followed by a two-run homer by sophomore Ambur Farmer helped Niagara earn its eighth consecutive win, beating Rider 9-1.

Senior Becky Zill finished the nightcap with two RBIs, moving into a third-place tie in the program’s career RBI list with 107.

Holding an 8-1 lead in the fifth, Rebecca Saggiomo hit what initially looked like her first career home run, but after a discussion by the umpires, the hit was called back as a ground-rule double, scoring one run and extending the lead by eight, 9-1.

The Broncs earned one of its six hits in the bottom of the fifth but would not score, and the game ended with Niagara winning courtesy of the run-rule.

Junior Kim Bryson (3-13) earned her third-straight victory, allowing one run on six hits while striking out three. Ali Meagher (3-16) drew the loss for the Broncs, with seven earned runs on eleven hits.

Niagara returns to action tomorrow afternoon to wrap up MAAC play against Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y. beginning at 12 p.m.