The visiting Siena College Saints evened their MAAC record at 2-2 on the season with a pair of road wins over the Canisius Golden Griffins Sunday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex. The Saints (14-11, 2-2 MAAC) scored a 13-8 win in the first game before dropping the Blue and Gold 7-4 in the nightcap. Canisius is now 9-22 overall and 0-2 in conference action with the two losses.
Canisius will return to action Wednesday, April 13, when the team travels east on the New York State Thruway for a pair of non-league games at Syracuse. First pitch against the Orange is set for 4 p.m.
Game One – Siena 13, Canisius 8
Siena scored all 13 of its runs in three innings, highlighted by a six-run fifth, en route to a 13-8 win over Canisius in the first game of a MAAC doubleheader. The 13 runs scored by the Saints matches the team's season high, as Siena also recorded 13 runs in a 13-3 win over Fairleigh Dickinson March 31. The key hit for Siena in the six-run fifth came off the bat of sophomore Brooke Taylor, who took an 0-1 offering from Canisius freshman pitcher Allie Block over the fence in right-center for a three-run shot, her second homer of the season.
Canisius rallied to score three in the home-half of the fifth and then the Griffs added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 13-8, but that was as close as the Blue and Gold would get in the losing effort. The game, which went two hours, 21 minutes, saw a combined total of 21 runs scored with 23 hits and five errors.
Canisius had 12 hits in the loss, with junior Lindsey Silfer going 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Senior Alexis Roman had two doubles and scored twice, while freshman Denver Keller had two hits, including a double, to go with an RBI and a run scored. Canisius starter Erika Mackie took the loss for the Blue and Gold after she allowed seven runs, three earned, on seven hits. Block threw 3.2 innings and gave up six runs, four earned, on four hits while fanning two and walking four. Siena hurler Lauren Butts picked up her team-leading seventh win of the season for the Saints after she went 4.2 innings and gave up six runs on nine hits while striking out six and walking two.
Game Two – Siena 7, Canisius 4
Offensively, Siena picked up right where it left off in game two, scoring four in the top-half of the first and then adding two more runs in the second to earn the 7-4 win. Siena senior Alyssa Lancaster's double with one out in the first plated two runs, and her teammate Paige Hess drove in a pair in the second with a double to the gap in left-center.
Trailing 4-0 after the top of the first, Canisius cut the Saints' lead in half to 4-2 thanks to a bases-clearing triple in the home-half of the first frame by Keller that allowed Roman and sophomore Moriah Harris to score. Canisius made it a two-run game in the fourth by scoring two times to make the score 6-4 in favor of Siena. In that frame, the Griffs scored runs on RBI-groundouts by freshman Destiny Holani and junior Samantha Sharkey.
Siena added an insurance run in the seventh when pinch-runner Megan McNamara scored on a fielding error by the Griffs. Canisius had two runners on and the game-tying run at the plate with no outs in the seventh, but Butts was brought on in relief for Siena and she closed the door on the Griffs' offense to earn her second save of the season.
Keller had three hits in the nightcap loss for Canisius, which fell to 1-2 at home this season. Harris went 1-for-4 with a run scored, while Silfer, senior Meghan Cuda and Block all recorded doubles for Canisius. Sophomore Madi Weathers went the distance for Canisius in the second game and took the loss after she allowed seven runs, three of which were earned, on 11 hits while walking three and striking out two. Junior Danielle Cacciola picked up the win in relief for Siena after she held Canisius scoreless over three innings, where she allowed just three hits to go with four walks.
