CLEVELAND, Ohio – On the second day of the Cleveland State Dome Tournament, the Purple Eagles softball team continued their strong offensive play from Saturday’s first win of the season, a 9-0 rout of the Robert Morris Colonials. Niagara started the day on Sunday with a 9-4 victory over the host Cleveland State Vikings. The Purple Eagles also won their rematch against Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon, winning by a score of 7-5.

At 3-1, the Purple Eagles are off to their best start in eight years, when the team picked up six straight victories to start the 2009 campaign 6-0.

Sierra Bertrand and Jennifer Szilagyi each pitched in the wins for the Purple Eagles, with Szilagyi finishing the weekend 2-0. Sarah March led the Purple Eagles with a team-best .571 batting average (4-for-7 on the day), while Szilagyi and Kendall Watkins each finished Sunday’s two-game slate batting .500 (4-for-8) with one double and three runs scored. Jerri Ann Orfano registered two doubles in the Cleveland State win and Brianna Clark hit a three-run home run.

Niagara Univ. 9, Cleveland State 4

Cleveland State took an early 3-0 advantage with three hits and two walks in the bottom of the first inning. Niagara came back and took the lead for good with five runs in the top of the fourth.
Jennifer Szilagyi got Niagara on the board with an RBI double to left field, and Jerri Ann Orfano followed up with a two-run double in the next at-bat to tie the game at three.
Kendall Watkins and Sarah March closed out the top of the fourth inning with a pair of RBI singles to put the Purple Eagles up 5-3, finishing the inning with five runs on five hits.
After Bridget Hogan doubled to get on base in the top of the fifth, Orfano registered her second double of the game, scoring Hogan to make it 6-3.
With two outs in the sixth inning, March singled to right field and Taylor Moody walked before Brianna Clark made it 9-3 Niagara with a three-run shot to left field. Cleveland State would pick up one run in the bottom of the sixth, but Niagara’s five-run lead held up for a 9-4 victory.
Jennifer Szilagyi pitched five innings for her second win of the weekend, allowing four runs on six hits while picking up two strikeouts. Sierra Bertrand earned one strikeout in two innings of relief.

Niagara Univ. 7, Robert Morris 5

After picking up five runs in the fourth inning against Cleveland State, Niagara used a four-run fourth against Robert Morris, giving the team a lead they would not relinquish in the 7-5 win.
After the Colonials picked up the game’s first run in the top of the third inning, Niagara took a 4-1 lead after four innings. Jerri Ann Orfano and Jennifer Szilagyi led off the inning with a pair of singles, and Kendall Watkins’ RBI double in the next at-bat tied the game 1-1.
Rachel Funk followed that up with another double that scored two runs to put Niagara in the lead. Funk would score on a Robert Morris throwing error to extend Niagara’s lead to three.
Funk doubled again in the fifth inning to put Niagara up 5-1, and a wild pitch and a single by March each score one more run to make it a 7-1 lead for the Purple Eagles after five.
Robert Morris would score two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the Colonials could not find the tying run in the top of the seventh as Niagara held on for the 7-5 win.

Niagara heads to Florida for a seven-game stretch from March 6 to 12. The Purple Eagles begin the week with a two-game set in Clearwater, Fl. against South Dakota State and Western Michigan. After playing against Providence College on March 8, Niagara closes the week with a pair of doubleheaders against St. Bonaventure (March 9) and Bucknell (March 12).

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