The Canisius College softball team lost its first two games of the 2010 season, falling to No. 13 Georgia Tech 9-0 in five innings before losing to Florida Gulf Coast 6-3 in the second contest of the day. The Golden Griffins are currently taking part in the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament in Clearwater, Fla.

In the second game, freshman pitcher Amanda Baun took the loss in the circle despite fanning 12 in her first collegiate start. After the Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Canisius answered with a single-run in the top of the second when junior Emily Helbig stroked an RBI-single through the infield to drive in teammate Lizzy Gatto. The Griffs had a chance to add another run in the top half of the fourth, but with one out, a runner was ruled to have left third base early on a potential sacrifice fly, ending the Griffs' scoring chances in the frame. In the bottom  of the fourth, Florida Gulf Coast took a 3-1 lead on a two-run homer off the bat of left fielder Lauran Ziegler.

The Griffs plated one run in the top of the sixth on an RBI-double by junior Kerry Ulmer, but the Eagles answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Canisius scored one more run in the seventh on an RBI-single by senior Michelle Fridey, but winning pitcher Catherine McDaniel shut down the Blue and Gold's attack to earn the win.

For Canisius, junior Paige Freiberger went 2-for-4 in the loss, while Gatto scored two runs. McDaniel earned the win in the circle after she gave up three runs on eight hits while striking out three and walking four.

In the first game of the season, No. 13 Georgia Tech scored a pair of runs in the first and fourth and added five more in the top of the fifth to post the 9-0 victory. Sophomore Jessica Coan earned the win for the Yellow Jackets after she gave up one hit and struck out nine. Junior Lauren Hope registered Canisius' lone hit of the game, a single in the fifth inning. The Griffs had the bases loaded with two outs in the third inning but Coan got out of trouble with a fly ball to center for the third out.

The Griffs will return to action Sunday with a pair of games, starting at 10 a.m., when the team meets Illinois State. The team will close out their stay at the USF Wilson-DiMarini event when the squad plays host South Florida at 3:30 p.m.

Game Notes: The Feb. 13 start date is the earliest in program history... This marks the first time Canisius has played softball against Georgia Tech and Florida Gulf Coast... Freshman Katie Medina was credited with her first collegiate hit in the loss to Florida Gulf Coast... Dating back to last season, Freiberger has hits in four of the Griffs' last five games.