Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, SUNY Niagara softball looks to snap a four-game losing streak. The Thunderwolves lost to rival Erie Community College, 6-2 in seven innings and 8-0 in six innings on April 24, and followed up with defeats against Hudson Valley Community College (8-7 and 10-3) on April 26.
Ranked fifth in the NJCAA Region III Softball Coaches poll on Friday, the Thunderwolves are now 12-16 overall and 11-8 in region play. The 11 wins in regional play are still their most since they went 25-4 in 2023.
During Game Two against Erie on April 24, sophomore and North Tonawanda resident Quinn Manth recorded her 79th career stolen base and passed 2018 graduate Ana Bryer (78 in 81 games) for the modern era record (since 2013). Manth later recorded a stolen base during the Hudson Valley Community College series and now has 80 in 58 career games along with a .455 batting average and 27 runs batted in.
Freshman Miranda Shingleton is now fourth in NJCAA Division III with a .528 batting average and is tied for 15th with her team-best 40 runs batted in. A North Tonawanda resident, Shingleton is the seventh player to deliver at least 40 runs in a season in the modern era, joining Maggiemay Murrins (82 in 2022), Lydia Serrano (60 in 2022), Shelby Wolf (59 in 2023 and 48 in 2022), Makayla Montes (58 in 2022), Samantha Steindel (44 in 2023) and Kelsi Palistrant (41 in 2017).
Weather permitting, SUNY Niagara hosts an NJCAA Region III doubleheader versus Mohawk Valley Community College at 2 p.m. Saturday in Sanborn. The Thunderwolves are then scheduled to host Genessee Community College at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Saturday’s doubleheader is also the program’s Sophomore Day. Manth, Mia Herman (Barker), Caitlyn Hanley, Lauren Kisloski, Jordan Shaffer (North Tonawanda) and Sidney Ziemendorf (Wilson) will be honored.
Baseball
SUNY Niagara went 6-1 over its last seven games and now prepare for the final four games of the regular season. The Thunderwolves won three of four contests against Onondaga (two Sunday, two Thursday) and won three straight against Genesee (one Monday, two Tuesday).
SUNY Niagara is now 43-4 overall and 22-1 in the NJCAA Region III West standings. The Game One loss against Onondaga, 7-6 in seven innings, ended the Thunderwolves’ 38-game win streak at Sal Maglie Stadium, dating back to a 4-0 loss to Erie Community College on April 15, 2024.
With the loss, SUNY Niagara is now 46-2 at “The Sal” since it made the historic field its new home venue in 2024. And, the Thunderwolves remained second in the latest NJCAA Division III national rankings, which were released Tuesday.
During SUNY Niagara’s 7-1 win versus Genesee Monday, sophomore and Penn State commit Dalton Harper recorded his 131st career hit and became the program’s new career hits leader in the modern era (since 2007), surpassing 2017 graduate Zarley Cina’s total of 130. In 94 career games, Harper has recorded 141 hits, 17 home runs and 103 runs batted in.
Fellow sophomore and Southern Indiana commit Mike Schaefer also recorded his 100th career RBI during SUNY Niagara’s 22-1 five-inning victory at Genesee Tuesday and now has 104 in 95 games. Schaefer is one of only four players in the modern era with at least 100 driven runs in a career, joining 2025 graduate Gavyn Boyle (113 runs), 2013 graduate Dylan Baun (105 runs) and Harper.
This season, Harper is second in NJCAA Division III with a .532 batting average and his team-leading 65 runs batted in are the fourth best. Schaefer is eighth with 56 runs batted in and Cam Gravelle is tied for 23rd with 49.
Niagara Wheatfield graduate and freshman Cameron Graurin recorded his second three-hit game and his 10th career multi-hit game after he recorded three triples and drove in four runs in during Game Two against Onondaga Thursday. Gruarin is fourth on the team with 32 RBI, has a team-high seven triples and is fifth with eight doubles.
On the mound, sophomore Keegan Bazinet now has eight wins and is tied with Dallas Colege Eastfield’s Benjamin Sheppard for the division lead. The George Mason commit is also 10th with 62 strikeouts in 50 innings.
Freshman Derrick Allen remains third in the division with seven wins. He has also thrown a team-high 64 strikeouts in 46.2 innings.
SUNY Niagara is 31-0 when it scores at least 10 runs in a contest this season and 396-77 (.837) overall since 2017. The Thunderwolves wrap up the regular season with a four-game series against Corning Community College.
Saturday’s doubleheader starts at Noon in Corning. Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Sal Maglie Stadium and pre-game coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. on WLVL.com.
Sunday’s contests is also the program’s “Sophomore Day.” Bazinet, Gravelle, Harper, Scahefer, Austin Barton, Charlie Chubak, Joe Czaja, Luke Gigliotti, Liam Hadfield, Matt Kasprowicz, Evan Kohr, Bryce Mashanic, Mike Munzert, Joe Panzarella, Cooper Polcovich, Cooper Prizel, Cooper Rossano and Jackson Sheehy will also be honored.
Golf
SUNY Niagara placed tied for second with Onondaga at the Jamestown Community College Invitational April 24 in Chautauqua. The Thunderwolves’ host invitational April 25 at Willowbrook Golf Course in Lockport was postponed due to inclement weather.
SUNY Niagara had a score of 319, two strokes behind the winner, Jefferson. Hudson Valley (324) and Jamestown (328) rounded out the top five.
Ryan Conrad finished in a three-way tie for fifth place at six-over-par 78. Bode Daumen finished tied for sixth overall at 79.
Now 3-2 this season, the Thunderwolves return to action with three dates this weekend, startin with the Jefferson Community College Invitational Friday in Watertown. SUNY Niagara next competes at the Herkimer College Invitational at Noon Saturday in Little Falls, and the Mohawk Valley Community College Invitational at 9 a.m. Sunday in Oneida.
Cliffe receives SUNY Chancellor’s Award
Sophomore and Wilson resident Cait Cliffe was one of the recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence Monday in Albany. This is the highest honor awarded to a SUNY student, which acknowledges those who best demonstrate the integration of academic success with leadership, campus involvement, community service and the arts.
Cliffe was a two-year member of SUNY Niagara women’s volleyball and helped the program qualify for the NJCAA Region III postseason in both seasons and just the third time since 2014. A two-time NJCAA Region III all-region selection, Cliffe finished her career with 446 kills and 356 digs in 41 matches.
Cliffe recorded double-digit kills 23 times in her career (16 this season) and in 20 of her last 27 matches, dating back to a 16-kill outing versus SUNY Broome on Oct. 12, 2024. Cliffe recorded her 300th career kill against Erie Community College on Sept. 27 and both her 400th total kill and 300th total dig against Onondaga Community College on Oct. 11.
Cliffe was previously a three-sport athlete at Wilson High School. Cliffe was a two-time all-Niagara Orleans League first-team selection in girls volleyball, appeared in two Section VI championships with girls basketball and won the section’s Class B2 final with softball in 2024, the program’s first in 23 years.
Joe Kraus is the Sports Information Director at SUNY Niagara. For more information, please visit ncccathletics.com or email Joe at jkraus@niagaracc.suny.edu.