NIAGARA UNIV., NY- The Purple Eagles dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader against MAAC preseason favorite Marist.

Niagara 0, Marist 12

Niagara (1-23, 1-5 MAAC) couldn't get anything going against Marist (14-16, 4-2 MAAC) in the first leg of the double header with junior Sydney Smyers in the circle. The bright spot was sophomore Rachel Ziarnowski who doubled in the third inning, but couldn't come around to score.

Marist was led by starting pitcher senior Melanie White (7-6) who pitched seven complete innings, allowed four hits and struck out eight in the shutout win. Offensively, Marist was boosted by junior Kyrsten Van Natta, who hit for the cycle, including a three-run home run in the fourth.

Niagara 3, Marist 14

Trailing 9-0 in the fourth inning, sophomore Chanelle Ward had a one out double to leftfield to move junior Amanda Werth to third, who later scored on a wild pitch for the Niagara's first run on the day. Senior Desarae Maldonado pushed across Ward on an RBI single, cutting the lead to seven.

In the fifth inning, Niagara pushed across one more on a sacrifice fly by Maldonado as freshman Jessica Chandler scored. However, Marist freshman Samantha Reilly hit a two-run homer off Amanda Werth, who came in to relieve Taylor Grieger in the previous inning. Another three runs scored in the inning to increase the lead to eleven and secure a Marist victory.

The Purple Eagles continue their home weekend versus Quinnipiac on Sunday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.

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