Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Niagara softball (4-6) split its Wednesday twin bill with Saint Peter's (8-8), winning the latter game 9-7 in extras. The Purple and White fell in game one, 5-4.
 
Game 1 Recap: Niagara 4, Saint Peter's 5
 
The game would remain tied at 0-0, after three-straight Niagara hits to start the game and a play in the plate kept the Purple Eagles off the board in the first inning.
 
Saint Peter's would score the opening run of the contest against Maddie Hickingbottom, who finished with 6.0 innings pitched and eight strikeouts, in the second inning.
 
Niagara would take 2-1 lead in the top of the third when Maggie Kellner hit a two-run home run to put NU ahead.
 
The Peacocks would tie and take a two-run lead, 4-2, in the bottom of the fourth behind a two-home run inning off Hickingbottom. Saint Peter's hit its third homer of the game in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-2 advantage.
 
Samantha Hare would drive in Kellner and Natasha Limbani in the top of the seventh to draw Niagara within one, 5-4, with two away in the frame. Selah Moyer would go on to pop out to end the game and the Niagara comeback.
 
Niagara Notes
• Three Purple Eagles recorded a multi-hit game, led by three hits from Kellner.
• Kellner's three hit game is her first since April 13, 2022 against Merrimack. The homer was her first of the season and first since her freshman season against Saint Peter's (May 2, 2021).
• Mayo notched her third multi-hit game and Hare recorded her second of the season.
• Kellner and Hare each tallied two RBI in the loss, their second multi-RBI games of the season.
• Three of Niagara's nine hits went for extra bases.
 
Game 2 Recap: Niagara 9, Saint Peter's 7
 
Niagara jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Hare and Brianna Delaney manufactured a pair in the top of the first.
 
After a Saint Peter's single in the first inning, Cara Leone then set down 11-straight batters, until the Peacocks recorded a one-out double in the fifth. That double would spark Saint Peter's to tie the game in the inning.
 
Saint Peter's would then take a 3-2 lead in the sixth, putting Niagara down by one heading into their final cuts in the top of the seventh.
 
The Purple Eagles would strike for five runs in the seventh. The first came on a Mayo triple that brought home Madison LaPenta, who pinch ran for Selah Moyer, across to tie the game.
 
Later in the inning, Hare would hit a SAC fly to give Niagara the lead before Delaney doubled to center to make it a two-run ball game.
 
Niagara would add two more in the inning as Shayna Myshrall and Jolyn Gibbons put the Purple and White ahead by four, 7-3.
 
Julia Thompson, who entered the circle in relief of Leone in the sixth would come back out for the bottom of the seventh ahead by four, however, Saint Peter's would explode for four runs on five hits to tie the game at seven and send it to extra innings.
 
Limbani would head to second to start the extra frame, which led to a Bayleigh McCullogh single and a Mayo walk to load the bases and bring Kellner to plate. Kellner would proceed to get plunked to bring across the go-ahead run for Niagara and then Hare drove in the ninth run of the contest for Niagara with a SAC fly.
 
Thompson would come back out for the bottom of the eighth and strike out two of the three batters she faced to set the Peacocks down in order and salvage the series split.  
 
Niagara Notes
• Five Purple Eagles recorded at least two hits with Gibbons recording her first career three hit game.
• Delaney hit two doubles in the contest while Mayo recorded a double and triple.
• Hare recorded three RBI to finish with five for the day.
 
Up Next
Niagara heads back down to Baltimore, Md., for the UMBC Spring Invite begining on Thursday, March 14 with a contest against UMBC at 6 p.m.
 
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