The Canisius College softball team dropped a pair of games on Saturday on the second day of the USF Invite at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater, Fla. The Golden Griffins dropped the first game of the day to Long Island by a score of 9-3 before being knocked off by Bryant by a 7-3 count. Canisius is now 4-16 on the year.

Canisius started the day off by trailing Long Island (7-23) by a 1-0 score after the top of the first, but the Blue and Gold answered with a single run in the home half of the first to knot the game at 1-1. Senior Lauren Falzone led the inning off for Canisius with a base hit to left, and then she moved to second on a wild pitch. With two outs in the frame, Falzone was able to race around third base and cross the plate after a throwing error charged to the Long Island infield.

The Blackbirds made the score 2-1 in the top of the third after they scored a run, but once again, Canisius answered and took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third after freshman Michelle DelPrince scored from third on a wild pitch and fellow freshman Robin Kennery singled back up the drive in Falzone from third.

Long Island took the lead for good in the top of the fifth, and then added five insurance runs, with three coming in the sixth and two more being added in the top of the seventh. In the fifth, Long Island freshman Nicole Archer led the inning off with a solo homer that tied the game at 3-3, and the Blackbirds added another run in the frame when senor Sterling Hoham doubled to the gap in right center, and junior Karina Cervantes came around to score the eventual game-winning run.

Long Island senior Sarah Reynolds earned the win in the circle for LUI after she gave up three runs on eight hits to go with two strikeouts and two walks. Canisius senior Caroline Main took the loss for the Blue and Gold after she gave up four runs, two earned, on five hits to go with a strikeout and three walks. Three Canisius players had multiple hits in the loss, with Fazlone, Kennery and DelPrince all adding base hits to the Griffs' cause. DelPrince was also credited with a stolen base in the game.

In the second game, the Bryant Bulldogs (4-9) scored three times in the top of the first to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. Canisius answered with a run in the bottom of the first when sophomore Valorie Nappo drove an RBI-single through the right side that allowed senior Lizzy Gatto to score. Bryant added a run in the fourth to push its lead to 4-1, but the Blue and Gold added two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 4-3 after five innings of play.

In the fifth, DelPrince and Falzone reached to start the inning on Bryant errors, with the second error allowing DelPrince to score from first base. After Gatto reached first on a bunt-base hit, senior Lauryn Chris knocked in a run with a single to right field that allowed Fazlone to score from third. Bryant added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh to make the score 7-4 in favor of the Bulldogs. In that inning, Bryant led 5-3 with two down before sophomore Amy Weinberg drove a base hit through the right side of the infield that allowed two runs to score. Chris started the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff walk, but the Griffs were unable to get a runner to second base, as junior pitcher Jennifer Jacob shut the door on the Griffs' attempted rally to secure the win for her team.

Jacob went the distance and allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out one and walking two for her second win of the year. Sophomore Jen Consaul took the loss for the Blue and Gold after she allowed seven runs on 13 hits while striking out three. Gatto led all players with four hits, including a double and she scored a run for the Griffs in the loss, while Chris and Nappo each added an RBI.