RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Niagara softball team suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats in a doubleheader against the Manhattan Jaspers on Sunday.

Niagara 1, Manhattan 2

Niagara dropped a nail-biter in game one of the doubleheader. The Purple Eagles got on the scoreboard in the first for the second straight game when Desarae Maldonado hit a RBI double to left field. However, Manhattan answered in its half of the inning to tie the game at 1-1.

The score would stay at 1-1 for the next six innings as the game would turn into a pitching duel between Jennifer Sansano and Kate Bowen. The two combined to allow just two hits from the second to the eighth inning.

Unfortunately for Niagara, Manhattan's third and final hit of the game was a game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth by the pitcher, Bowen. Sansano finished with a season-high 12 strikeouts in the defeat.

Niagara 1, Manhattan 2

Game two followed a similar script to game one, but it was Niagara (11-20, 2-6 MAAC) who scored the game-tying run.

The Purple Eagles, who trailed 1-0 after the first inning, tied the game in the fifth on a solo home run by Maldonado.  

However, the Jaspers (15-19, 5-3 MAAC) had more late-inning magic to pull out the win. Manhattan scored the game-winning run on a throwing error on ground ball to short in the sixth inning. In the en suing inning, Niagara went down in order to end the game.

The Purple Eagles will step out of conference play for a doubleheader at Binghamton on Thursday, April 17.