NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Purple Eagles fell to Kennesaw State, 6-5, and NC State, 9-1, on the first day of the Homewood Suites by Hilton RDU/RTP Challenge on Friday.
Game 1: Kennesaw State 6, Niagara 5
- The Owls (19-10) took the lead, 3-0, in the first inning with a three-run homerun.
- Niagara (5-15) answered in the second inning. Taylor Moody grounded out to second base, scoring Margaret Vesneske to leave NU trailing by only two runs, 3-1.
- Niagara tied things up, 3-3, in the third with a two RBI single from Jerri Ann Orfano.
- The Owls reclaimed the lead, 5-3, in the bottom of the third inning.
- The Purple Eagles tied things up again, 5-5, in the fifth. Kelsey Harrigan scored on a wild pitch and Kendall Watkins scored on a passed ball.
- Kennesaw State scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth.
- Heather Haberman led the Purple Eagles with two hits and Orfano had a team-high two RBIs.
- Karsen Cotton started in the circle, striking out two and allowing six earned runs in 4.0 innings pitched.
Game 2: NC State 9, Niagara 1
- The Wolfpack (16-11) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. They tacked on three more runs in the second inning and one in the third to take an 8-0 lead over the Purple Eagles.
- Niagara got on the board in the fifth inning; Erika Siegel grounded out to short to score Watkins.
- NC State added one more run in the bottom of the fifth and came away with the 9-1 victory.
- Kelsey Harrigan, Vesneske and Brianna Clark each had one hit for the Purple Eagles and Siegel had one RBI.
- In the circle, Sierra Bertrand (2-5) fanned two and allowed four earned runs in 3.0 innings pitched.
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles will face MAAC opponent Marist as part of the tournament at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 24. NU will play a second game on the 24th, with the time and opponent being determined by the results of the morning games.
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