Live Stats

The Niagara softball team took a tough loss in its home opening game Thursday against St. Bonaventure, rallying to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh only to see the Bonnies pull away with three runs in the eighth for the win. Niagara now turns its attention back to MAAC opponents, where the team continues its weekend home stand against the Iona Gaels and the Fairfield Stags.
 
Niagara and Iona will begin a doubleheader Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m. while first pitch for the two-game set with Fairfield will be at noon on Sunday, April 17.
 
Last Time Out

• Bridget Hogan pitched the first game of the day for the Purple Eagles, striking out four batters while giving up eight hits as Niagara fell 5-2 in extra innings.
• Niagara stranded runners on second and third in the bottom of the first inning before St. Bonaventure came up to bat and took a 2-0 lead midway through the second inning.
• In total, Niagara left nine runners on base after six innings, but the team got on the board in the seventh as Jennifer Szilagyi and Bridget Hogan hit back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game 2-2.
• With the bases loaded and a chance to win in the bottom of the seventh, Niagara could not find  a final run, and St. Bonaventure came back to seize the 5-2 win in the eighth inning.
• St. Bonaventure took a 10-1 lead after three innings in game two, and the Bonnies would hold on for a 10-3 victory and a sweep of the doubleheader.
• Entering the game in relief of Sydney Smyers, pitcher Sierra Bertrand threw five innings of no-run ball in game two, fanning five batters while allowing three hits and three runs.
• Sarah Trifoso led Niagara hitters on the day with a 3-for-7 performance.
• Jennifer Timm and Hogan each hit 2-for-6, and Szilagyi, Chanelle Ward, and Taylor Moody each picked up two hits.

 
Scouting the Gaels (7-21, 1-3 MAAC)

• Iona starts an eight-game road trip with its doubleheader at Niagara Saturday.
• The Gaels recently completed a six-game home stand, going 1-5 from March 31 to April 13.
• That homestand ended with Iona falling to Hofstra 13-5 on Wednesday.
• Iona opened MAAC play with losses of 10-0 and 4-1 to Monmouth before splitting a home doubleheader with Rider on April 10, falling 5-2 in game one before wrapping up the day with an 8-5 victory.
• Iona's Marisa Gergel leads the MAAC with a .403 hitting percentage.
• Defensively, Iona ranks third in the conference with a fielding percentage of .967.

 
Scouting the Stags (15-14, 3-1 MAAC)

• Fairfield enters the weekend with five wins in its last seven games. The Stags play a doubleheader at Canisius Saturday before coming to Niagara on Sunday.
• In conference play, the Stags have swept Rider 10-0 and 11-5 in addition to a split against Monmouth with a 6-2 loss and a 5-0 win.
• Fairfield is 2-3 in home games, compared to 5-4 at home and 8-7 at neutral sites.
• Lauren Filicia is second to Iona's Gergel in the MAAC with a hitting percentage of .396.
• The Stags have a total of seven other batters hitting over .300, led by Alisha Marshall (.356) and Courtney Hankins (.354).

 
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