The Canisius softball team moved into a first-place tie with MAAC rival Manhattan on Wednesday after the Golden Griffins swept long-time rival Niagara in a conference doubleheader at the Demske Sports Complex. Canisius beat the Purple Eagles 9-0 in five innings in the first game before pounding out 14 hits en route to a 12-0 victory in five innings in game two. Niagara is now 4-34 overall and 4-12 in league play.
The two wins moved Canisius to 24-15 overall and 13-3 in the league, which ties the Griffs with Manhattan, which is also 13-3, as the season heads to the final weekend of regular-season play. Canisius will play four games on the road (at Monmouth and at Rider) May 2-3, while the Jaspers will play four home games (vs. Marist and vs. Fairfield) this weekend.
Canisius posted its first MAAC doubleheader sweep of Niagara since the 2012 season after the Blue and Gold recorded 23 hits in the two-game series, highlighted by the 14 hits in the nightcap. In the first game, Canisius led 4-0 through three innings and broke the game open with a five-run fourth which saw the Blue and Gold send nine batters to the plate, while scoring five runs on five hits to go with two Niagara errors in the frame.
Freshman pitcher Erika Mackie picked up her team-leading 13th win of the season after she threw her fifth shutout of the season while giving up four hits to go with two strikeouts and two walks. Niagara had just one extra-base hit on the day, a double by left fielder Ambur Farmer in the fourth, and the Purple Eagles were able to advance just one base runner to third in the two games, as designated player Sarah March reaching third base in the top-half of the second in game one.
Sophomore Lindsey Silfer went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in the game one victory, while senior Michelle DelPrince had a triple, her MAAC-leading sixth of the season, to go with an RBI and a run scored for Canisius.
In game two, Canisius jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings and then scored seven times in the fourth to force the mercy-rule ending. In that fourth inning, Canisius got things started with back-to-back doubles by junior Bethany DeMarco and Tori Nappo, and DeMarco ripped another double later in the frame that knocked in a pair of runs. The Griffs' 12 runs were more than enough for freshman starter Madi Weathers, who went the distance and allowed just one hit while fanning four en route to her 10th win of the season in the circle.
Canisius will play at Monmouth Saturday, May 2 with game one of the MAAC twinbill set for 1 p.m. Both games on Saturday will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Game Notes: Canisius leads the all-time series with Niagara by a 90-22-1 count… The Griffs closed out the home portion of their 2015 regular-season schedule with a 10-3 overall record and a 9-1 mark in MAAC games… As a team, Canisius hit .330 at the Demske this season and outscored opponents by a 93-45 clip… Canisius is 7-0 this season when scoring 10 or more runs in a game… Weathers' one-hitter in game two was the first of her career, and she's now recorded shutouts in two of her last three starts… Sophomore Jessica Berzins went a combined 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, three RBI and three runs scored on Wednesday… She has now reached base safely in 21-straight games, the longest streak of her career in a Canisius uniform… Silfer has reached base safely in 16-straight games and she now has 31 RBI this season, which ties her for 22nd on the school's single-season RBI list… DelPrince's triple makes her the 10th player in program history to have more than five triples in the same season.
