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Niagara Purple Eagles softball

College softball team

College softball team

FieldValue
nameNiagara Purple Eagles
logoInitials niagara univ.svg
logo_size250
universityNiagara University
conferenceMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference
conference_shortMAAC
cityLewiston
stateabbNY
stateNew York (state)
coachLarry Puzan
tenure11th
stadiumNiagara Softball Field
nicknamePurple Eagles
ncaa_tourneys1998
conference_tournament1998

The Niagara Purple Eagles softball team represents Niagara University in the NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Purple Eagles are currently led by head coach Larry Puzan. The team plays its home games at Niagara Softball Field located on the university's campus.

History

Since joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1990, Niagara has failed to win a conference regular season title but have managed to finish second three times, doing so in 1996, 1997, and 2008. The Purple Eagles have been largely unsuccessful since establishing a team in 1981. Niagara has posted a winning season only seven times in 41 years, six of those with former coach Al Dirschberger. The most recent winning season came in 2009. They have, however, managed to win a conference tournament title, doing so in 1998. In doing so, Niagara earned a berth in the 1998 NCAA Division I softball tournament.

The Purple Eagles, led by stars Joni Sontrop and Kelly Cruttenden, faced off against Arizona in their first career NCAA tournament appearance, losing 14-0 via mercy rule in five innings. Niagara were eliminated in their second and final game of the tournament, losing 5-1 to Hawaii.

Former head coach Al Dirschberger was convicted of raping a 28 year old woman in 2017 and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. He was released in 2023 and will be under probation for ten years.

Coaching history

2014–presentLarry Puzan133–290

Roster

Niagara Purple Eagles}}"2024 Niagara Purple Eagles roster
Reference:

Season-by-season results

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References

References

  1. "Niagara Softball Field". PurpleEagles.com.
  2. "Softball Records (PDF)".
  3. Bronstein, Jonah. "Niagara's interim softball coach has turned program around".
  4. (December 3, 2020). "1998 NCAA Women's College World Series".
  5. "NIAGARA PAIR EARNS MAAC SOFTBALL HONORS".
  6. "NIAGARA TO FACE ARIZONA IN SOFTBALL".
  7. "20th Anniversary Of MAAC Softball Championship To Be Celebrated May 5".
  8. (April 12, 2019). "Former Erie County Social Services chief sentenced for raping employee".
  9. (June 10, 2023). "Former Erie County Social Services chief released from prison after 4 years".
  10. (April 22, 2019). "Former Division I head coach Dirschberger sentenced to prison".
  11. "2024 Softball Roster".
  12. "2023 Softball Schedule".
  13. "Softball Standings 1986-2022".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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