Canisius senior Emily Helbig ripped an RBI-single to right that allowed teammate Lizzy Gatto to score from second base to help lift the Golden Griffins to a 9-8 win over St. Bonaventure in eight innings Tuesday evening at the Demske Sports Complex. The win gave the Blue and Gold a split in the non-league twinbill against the Bonnies, as St. Bonaventure downed Canisius 8-6 in the first game. The Griffs are now 15-13 overall, while St. Bonaventure moves to 9-14 on the season.

Helbig finished the day by going 4-for-7 with four RBI. She also extended her hitting streak to five straight. Junior Lauren Falzone went 5-for-9 in the doubleheader with five runs scored, while freshman Valorie Nappo went 4-for-8 with a double and a run batted in for the Griffs. Gatto added four hits in the two-game set as well, with two of those being triples, to go with three RBI and two runs scored.

Canisius jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after two innings of play in the nightcap, thanks to two big hits by Gatto and sophomore catcher Stephanie Pfentner in the first inning. After Lauren Hope and Falzone reached with back-to-back singles to start the frame, Gatto drilled a pitch to the base of fence in right center for her second triple of the day that gave Canisius a 2-0 lead. Moments later, Pfentner blasted her team-leading sixth homer of the season, a three-run bomb, over the fence in right to put the home team up 5-0.

The Griffs added two runs in the home half of the second when senior Paige Freiberger knocked in a pair with a line-drive base hit back up the middle that allowed Hope and Falzone to score. The Bonnies scored two runs in the fourth to make it a 7-2 game, but cut the lead to just one at 7-6 with a four-run effort in the fifth. Canisius pushed its lead back to two at 8-6 on an RBI-groundout by junior Lauryn Chris in the bottom of the fifth, but St. Bonaventure was not done scoring, as the Bonnies plated two runs in top of the seventh when Brooke Frey drove in two with a double to the gap in left center to knot the game at 8-8.

Canisius would load the bases in the bottom of the seventh with no one out, but St. Bonaventure starter Diana Phalon got out of the jam by throwing three groundball outs to end the Canisius threat. After the Bonnies were retired in the eighth, Gatto led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and then stole second base. Freiberger reached on a fielder's choice moments later when the Bonnies' defense decided to throw to second to try and get Gatto out, but they were unsuccessful, and two pitches later, Helbig lined one to right to allow Gatto to score standing up.

Canisius freshman Jen Consaul earned the win for Canisius after she went the distance and allowed eight runs, five earned, on 10 hits to go with five strikeouts and two walks. The win improved Consaul to 4-2 on the season, and Tuesday's eight inning win in the circle marks the second time in a week that she's thrown eight innings in a Griff extra-inning victory. Phalon fell to 3-6 on the season after she allowed nine runs, all earned, on 14 hits, while fanning six and walking four.

Gatto went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, two RBI and three stolen bases in the victory, while Nappo added three hits as well to the winning effort, including her seventh double of the year. Frey went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored in the losing cause for the Bonnies.

In the first game, St. Bonaventure lead 4-1 heading into the bottom of the third, but Canisius answered with two runs when Helbig singled up the middle to allow Hope and Falzone to score. The score would remain 4-3 until the sixth when the Bonnies broke the game open with four runs, keyed by back-to-back homers. With two outs in the sixth, Frey hit a three-run homer over the fence in center field, and her teammate Jessenia Andujar followed with a solo homer to right center to give St. Bonaventure a 8-3 cushion. The Blue and Gold scored a single run in the bottom of the sixth and then plated two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the game 8-6, but Phalon, who came on in relief of starter Jen Sansano, was able to work out of a no out, bases loaded jam to secure her first save of the season.

Sansano improved to 4-5 on the year by earning the win after she went six innings and gave up six runs on 11 hits while striking out one and walking one. Junior Caroline Main took the loss for Canisius after she allowed eight runs on eight hits while fanning eight and walking seven in 5.2 innings of work. Helbig and Falzone had three hits apiece in the loss, while Chris added two hits for the Griffs.

The softball team will return to action this weekend with a pair of MAAC doubleheaders on the road. The Griffs will meet Fairfield April 16, at 1 p.m., before traveling to battle defending MAAC champion Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y., April 17 at noon.