NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – The Niagara softball team will take on Siena (Saturday, May 7) and Canisius (Sunday, May 8) to conclude the 2022 regular season. Saturday's first pitch between the Purple Eagles and Saints is scheduled for noon and Sunday at Canisius is set for a 3 p.m. start.
The Purple and White will honor its senior class prior to Saturday's twin bill.
Last Time Out
• Niagara went 2-2 last weekend against Saint Peter's and Manhattan.
Niagara Notes
• The Purple and White enter the weekend 14-22 overall and 8-8 in conference play.
• The Purple Eagles sports an 8-2 home record heading into their final two home games of the season.
•
Samantha Hare and
Maggie Kellner lead Niagara with .318 and .313 batting averages, respectively.
• Hare has a team-high four home runs, 25 RBI, .458 slugging percentage and .855 OPS.
• With runners on base this season, Hare is hitting .392 and when runners are in scoring position the team's leader in RBI is hitting .412.
• Kellner leads NU with 15 doubles, 35 hits and is second on the squad with 19 runs driven in.
• Three Purple Eagles have scored 20 or more runs this season with
Kelsey Harrigan and
Maggie Vesneske leading the team with 22 apiece. Hare has 21 runs scored.
• Last week,
Shayna Myshrall went 6-for-14 at the plate with a pair of solo home runs and four RBI. The junior also collected a double and scored three runs.
• Freshman
Hannah Mingle made four starts over five games last week, going 4-for-10 at the plate with two runs scored. The Syracuse, N.Y., native leads all Niagara freshman with a .250 average this season.
•
Riley Crum connected on her second home run of the season in game two of NU's doubleheader against Manhattan.
• Harrigan leads Niagara with 19 free passes this season and is second on the team with a .374 on-base percentage.
• In the circle, Niagara has a team ERA of 4.05, with Crum and Thompson sporting a 2.97 and 3.09 ERA, respectively.
• Thompson has a 1.68 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in league play.
• Crum has a team-high five wins in the circle and has pitched 59.0 innings in her junior season.
•
Maddie Hickingbottom became the first Purple Eagle in three seasons to eclipse 100 strikeouts and enters the weekend with 105 punch outs. She struck out 14 batters in a one-hit shutout of YSU earlier this season.
• Junior transfer
Cara Leone has appeared in 20 games during her first season on Monteagle Ridge and has a 3.87 ERA. The junior has struck out 25 batters in 50.2 innings.
Series History: Siena
• In the last 40 meetings between Niagara and Siena, the Saints hold the slight advantage, 22-18.
• The Purple Eagles are 4-6 over the last 10 meetings with Siena but have not beaten the Saints since 2019.
Series History: Canisius
• The Purple Eagles and Golden Griffins will close out the 2022 MAAC regular season on Sunday, marking the 126
th and 127
th meetings all-time between the two rivals.
• Canisius holds a 96-28-1 advantage over Niagara.
• Niagara has won five of the last 10 meetings against Canisius, including the final game of the four-game season-series in 2021.
Up Next
• The 2022 MAAC Softball Championships will take place May 11
th-14
th. The No. 1 seed wil host the six-team double elimination tournament.
