CLEVELAND – After an 11-day break, the Niagara softball team fell in a doubleheader at Cleveland State, 5-4 and 7-1, on Wednesday. 

Niagara 4, Cleveland State 5

Niagara (8-13) dropped a back-and-forth affair in extra innings in game one of the doubleheader. The lead changed five times, including twice in the final frame.

Niagara struck first with a Bridget Hogan RBI single to centerfield to score Katelyn Gruarin. However, CSU tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning, scoring on a wild pitch. The Vikings took the lead in the following inning when McNew led off the fourth with a home run to left field.

The Purple Eagles would tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning with a homer of their own. Facing two outs in the inning, Aileen Hinton bolted a solo shot for her first home run of the season. After a scoreless seventh, Niagara regained the lead in the eighth inning. Gruarin's line drive single scored Theresa Fleckenstein from third base as Niagara went back in front, 3-2. Though CSU tied the game by scoring on an error in bottom of inning.

The game moved into the 10th inning where the Purple Eagles went ahead on another RBI single by Hogan. CSU answered in its half of the inning. The Vikings tied the game on a fielder's choice and won the game on a RBI single.

Jennifer Sansano (6-2) pitched the entire game, allowing three earned runs, nine hits and striking out seven in 9.2 innings.  

Niagara 1, Cleveland State 7

The Purple Eagles dropped game two, 7-1. Two errors in the second inning led to two runs by the Vikings for a 2-0 lead. CSU added a third in the next inning.

Niagara's biggest threat came in the fourth inning. Consecutive singles to start the inning by Gruarin, Hogan and Hinton loaded the bases. After Gruarin was thrown out at home as Rachel Ziarnowski reached on a fielder's choice. On the en suing play, Hinton would score on a throwing error by the first baseman; though Hogan was also thrown out at home during the play. The threat ended when Rebecca Saggiomo grounded out to the pitcher.

From there, NU would only muster two hits and two left runners on base over the next three innings as the Vikings tact on one run in the fifth and three in the sixth.   

Niagara will have its home and MAAC openers this weekend when the Purple Eagles face Iona on Saturday and Fairfield on Sunday.