The Canisius College softball team will make its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., when the Golden Griffins (26-23) take on No. 11 Ohio State (44-9) at new Buckeye Field in Columbus, Ohio. This is Canisius' third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and it marks the second time in the last three years that the Blue and Gold have played in the Columbus Regional. Thursday's game can be heard live through GoGriffs.com, with Director of Athletic Communications Matt Reitnour providing the play-by-play.

2009 NCAA Softball Tournament - Columbus Regional
Canisius (26-23) at No. 11 Ohio State (44-9)
Date: Thursday, May 14, 2009
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: New Buckeye Field - Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: Available through www.ncaachampionships.com
Live Audio: Available through GoGriffs.com

PRACTICE SWINGS

• The Canisius College softball team, the 2009 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions, travels to Columbus, Ohio, to meet No. 11 Ohio State at New Buckeye Field.
• The Golden Griffins are 26-23 overall and finished the regular season with a 9-7 record in conference games.
• The Griffs' 26 wins this season insures the squad will finish the year with a winning record - the 27th winning season in school history.
• Canisius is making its third-straight NCAA Tournament trip and this marks the second time in the last three years that the team has been selected to play in the Columbus Regional.
• Canisius has won 12 MAAC Tournament titles since joining the MAAC before the 1990 season. This is the program's 11th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 15 years.
• Canisius has qualified for the MAAC Softball Championship Tournament 19 times since 1990 and has now played in the championship game 16 times.
• The Blue and Gold beat long-time rival Niagara 9-0 in the championship game. In the last three years, the Griffs have outscored their championship game opponents by a combined score of 19-0.
• Senior Cameron Norton was named the MAAC Tournament MVP after she hit .667 (8-for-12) with six RBIs, five runs scored, three home runs and a double in the team's four games. She is the ninth player in school history to earn MAAC Tournament MVP honors.
• Seniors Mallory Aldred and Rachelle Barrientos, junior Michelle Fridey and freshman Lizzy Gatto joined Norton on the MAAC All-Tournament Team.
• Canisius' 11 trips to the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament is one shy of the combined total of the rest of the Columbus Regional field.

OHIO STATE SCOUT

• Ohio State enters the national tournament ranked No. 11 in the nation with an overall record of 44-9.
• The Buckeyes closed out the regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Penn State. Ohio State finished the year with a 16-4 mark in Big Ten play.
• Ohio State has four players hitting better than .305, led by junior Sam Marder. Marder is hitting .367 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs to go with 60 walks and an .867 slugging percentage. She ranks among the top-10 in the nation in walks and slugging percentage.
• Whitney Cooper is hitting .329 with a team-high 52 hits, 14 of which have been for extra bases.
• Senior pitcher Kim Reeder leads the OSU pitching staff with her 23-5 record to go with her 1.39 ERA and 190 strikeouts. She ranks among the top-30 pitchers in the country in wins this season and needs one more victory in the circle to claim the program's all-time record for career wins.

CANISIUS vs. THE COLUMBUS REGIONAL FIELD

• Canisius is 1-1 all-time against the three other schools in this year's Columbus Regional, having beaten Kentucky and losing to Ohio State.
• The Griffs have never played a game against BYU in softball.
• Canisius' only meetings with Kentucky and Ohio State came at the 1999 Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Ky.
• The Griffs beat the host Wildcats 7-4 March 6, 1999, before falling to the Buckeyes 3-0 in eight innings on March 7, 1999.

CANISIUS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• This marks the 11th time in school history the Golden Griffins have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Griffs' game against No. 11 Ohio State Thursday night will be the program's 27th NCAA Tournament game.
• Canisius is 5-21 all-time in the national postseason after going 1-2 in 2008 at the Hempstead Regional at Hofstra University. The Blue and Gold defeated Long Island 3-2 in an elimination game before being knocked out of the tournament by Hofstra.
• The Blue and Gold's win over Long Island was the program's first win in the national postseason since the 2000 tournament when the Griffs beat Bethune Cookman 3-2 in 10 innings. Canisius is the only MAAC school to ever record a win in the softball championship.