Manth records first multi-home run game of career as Thunderwolves sweep Lakers Wednesday in Canandaigua
SUNY Niagara returned to the win column as it swept Finger Lakes Community College in NJCAA Region III action Wednesday in Canandaigua. The Thunderwolves won the first contest in seven innings, 13-9, and the second in five, 18-0, their first shutout win of the season.
This marked SUNY Niagara’s second sweep in regional play and its first since it took the double bill against SUNY Adirondack on April 4. The Thunderwolves have now won seven of their first 10 games in regional play, and were ranked fourth in the NJCAA Region III Softball Coaches Poll on April 10.
SUNY Niagara is now 8-11 overall and 7-3 in NJCAA Region III action. The region record is the blue-and-gold’s best start since it went 8-2 in 2023 (25-4 overall).
Weather permitting, SUNY Niagara continues its regular season when it hosts Jefferson Community College in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. in Sanborn. The Cannoneers have won five of the last six meetings following the Thunderwolves’ 3-2 eight-inning win on April 15, 2023, and are 10-9 overall over the last 10 seasons (since 2017).
Game One: SUNY Niagara 13, Finger Lakes Community College 9, Final 7 Innings
SUNY Niagara jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first. Molly Syposs recorded a two-run single and Gianna Simone posted a three-run single during the frame.
The Lakers then scored two in the bottom of the first and added another in the third to cut the deficit in half. The Thunderwolves then added a run in the top of the fourth as Grace Schindler brought Quinn Manth on a one-run single (7-3 SUNY Niagara).
SUNY Niagara added two more runs in the top of the fifth and had a 9-3 lead. Lauren Kisloski delivered a one-run single that scored Molly Syposs and later scored on Mia Herman’s one-run single.
Finger Lakes then scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and trailed 9-5. But SUNY Niagara scored twice at the top of the sixth, as Miranda Shingleton recorded an RBI and later stole home (11-5 SUNY Niagara).
The Lakers then cut the deficit to 11-8 after recording a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. But the Thunderwolves tacked on two more in top of the seventh as Simone had a one-run triple and Manth had a one-run single.
Simone went 2-for-4 and drove in a team-high four runs. Herman (two runs), Kisloski (two runs) and Manth (two stolen bases) all went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in one run.
Miranda Shingleton recorded two hits, drove in a run and scored twice along with two stolen bases. Schindler had one hit and drove in a run and Syposs had a hit and sent two runs home.
Cailtyn Hanley recorded her third win of the season in the circle. In seven innings, Hanley allowed nine runs on eight hits, struck out five and walked another five on 114 pitches (65 strikes) and went 1-for-3 at the plate with a run batted in.
Game Two: SUNY Niagara 18, Finger Lakes Community College 0, Final 5 Innings
A home run in the first and a two-run triple in the second by Quinn Manth helped SUNY Niagara start with a 3-0 lead. The Thunderwolves recorded seven runs in the top of the third as, during the sequence, Mia Herman had a two-run single, Miranda Shingleton posted a three-run double and Grace Schindler had a one-run single (10-0 SUNY Niagara).
Emmilie Sypherd (two RBI total) had an RBI triple in the fourth and later scored on an infield error during Mia Herman’s at-bat for a 12-0 lead. Later in the fourth, Gianna Simone had an RBI single and Manth recorded a three-run home run, her second of the game (16-0 SUNY Niagara).
Sidney Ziemendorf had an RBI ground-out (17-0 SUNY Niagara) in the fourth, and the scoring then ended with a RBI single from Molly Syposs.
Manth finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate with six runs batted in and scored three runs herself. This was the first multi-home run game of her Thunderwolves career.
Herman had two hits, drove in two runs and scored three times. Schindler and Syposs had two hits and delivered one run apiece.
Miranda Shingleton had one hit and drove in three runs. Caitlyn Hanley, Leah Kresman, Marissa Shingleton, Gianna Simone, and Sypherd all had one apiece as well.
Marissa Shingleton recorded her fourth win in the circle this season. The freshman threw five innings, allowed two hits, struck out four and had one walk on 63 pitches (42 strikes).