NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – For the first time since the 2018 season Niagara (13-15, 5-4 MAAC) earned a series victory over Canisius with a 6-3 win Wednesday afternoon on Monteagle Ridge in MAAC softball action.
Maddie Hickingbottom allowed two hits and two runs over 6.0 innings of work while striking out five, earning her fifth win of the season.
Samantha Hare drove in a pair of runs with her second home run of the season to propel the Niagara offense.
How it Happened
The Niagara bats got Hickingbottom a total of five runs in support of her stellar outing in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, the Purple Eagles used a leadoff single from
Lindsay Mayo and a
Shayna Myshrall single to push across the first run of the contest.
An inning later, Niagara scored four runs to take a 5-0 lead. Once again, the inning started with a leadoff knock, this time it was freshman
Natasha Limbani who got things going for Niagara and would later come around to score on an error by the Golden Griffin infield that also put a pair of Purple Eagles in scoring position.
Mayo would drive in Niagara's second run of the frame, and third of the game, with a sacrifice fly and then one batter later, Hare would connect on her second home run of the game, a two-run blast to left that gave NU a 5-0 lead over Canisius.
Hickingbottom limited the damage in the top of the fourth to just two runs as she struck out the final batter of the inning to leave the bases loaded.
Niagara added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth with a two as Sophia Marrer, the hero from Tuesday's game one, singled through the middle to bring
Hannah Mingle, who pinch ran for Myshrall, home from second.
Hickingbottom set the Griffs down in order in the top of the sixth before being relieved by
Julia Thompson in the final stanza. Despite allowing the leadoff double and a run Thompson wouldn't allow Canisius to get any closer than three, sealing the win for Niagara.
Niagara Notes
• Niagara last won the season series against Canisius during the 2018 season when they swept the two-game set from the Griffs.
• Hare homered for the second time in as many games.
• Marrero extended her hit streak to 13 games.
• Mayo went 1-for-3 at the plate and now has a hit in 21 of 28 games played.
• Hickingbottom struck out five batters, moving her season total to 88.
Up Next
The Purple and White will remain home for a three-game set against Fairfield this Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15.
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