Erie, Pa. - The middle of March ended up providing Mercyhurst Athletics with some stellar individual performances. With some seasons coming to an end while other start to ramp up, there was plenty of action for the Lakers with the most memorable performances belonging to Bailey Cannon of softball and wrestling's Jake Niffenegger to help them earn PPG Athletes of the Week honors.
Cannon and the rest of her team played in two games on the week with Mercyhurst going to Notre Dame to play a doubleheader against the Falcons on Wednesday, March 13th. The Lakers ended up splitting the pair of games 3-1, and 5-1 with Cannon's performance at the plate proving to be a major reason for the team's four-run win in game two. On the weekend overall, the freshman finished 3-7 with two extra base hits and three RBIs with both of those extra baggers coming in game two against the Falcons in the form of a two-run double and her first collegiate home run which made it a 5-1 game in favor of the Lakers in the sixth inning.
On the season the native of Edinboro, Pa. is batting .250 with an on-base percentage of .300 and an OPS of .603 for the second-best on the team behind only Madison Fry-Fachet. Her seven hits come in tied for fourth on the team alongside Alexandra Acosta-Reyes while her two extra-base hits are good enough to be tied with Fry-Fachet for second. The freshman has also seen time in the circle for Mercyhurst, pitching 14.0 innings to this point with a 2.14 WHIP while striking out at least one batter in every performance.
Cannon and the rest of her team gets on their home field for the first time this upcoming weekend when they host California (Pa.) on Friday, March 22nd, in a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m. followed by Seton Hill the following day ay 1:00 p.m.
Niffenegger ended up making the trek west to Wichita, Ks. for the NCAA National Championships this past weekend and ended up having the kind of performance he was hoping for. The sophomore was able to grab a trio of wins during his time in the tournament with a pair of 8-6 decisions with one them coming against the five seed Ronan Schuelke of McKendree. He also came away with an 11-3 major decision over the three seed Dylan Lucas of Central Oklahoma, helping him to a sixth-place finish in the event while earning All-American honors once again.
Niffenegger ends his season with a record of 26-7, finishing with the most wins on the team for the 2023-24 campaign while eclipsing the 50 win mark for his career now with 51. The Cincinnati, Oh. native has already stacked up an impressive resumé during his time with Mercyhurst as he was named the NWCA Super Region I Rookie of the Year a for the 2022-23 season before earning the champion at 141 for the region this time around. He has now been named an All-American for a second-straight season and joins a list of five other Lakers who have been received the honor twice in their career including former teammate Eric Bartos.
Niffenegger and the rest of the squad now gears up for another campaign, hoping to add on to what has already been a stellar career on the mat.
