The Canisius softball team moved to 18-28 overall and 9-5 in MAAC play by sweeping Monmouth in a league doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex. The Golden Griffins scored a 5-1 win in game one before coming back to defeat the Hawks (24-17, 11-5 MAAC) by a 5-4 count in 11 innings in the nightcap. Canisius has now won seven of its last 10 overall, and the team is 9-3 in MAAC games since being swept by Siena April 10 in the conference opener.
Canisius freshman Lauren Castro went 3-for-6 with a double and three runs scored in the doubleheader, while junior Samantha Sharkey added three hits in the two games, highlighted by a double and a run scored. Junior Jessica Berzins had four hits on the day and drove in the game-winning RBI in the 11th inning of the second game, with freshman Denver Keller adding three RBI and a double to the winning efforts for the Griffs, which defeated Monmouth for the first time in school history with the pair of wins on Saturday.
The two wins on Saturday moved Canisius into a third-place tie with Fairfield, a team the Griffs split with back on April 16. The Blue and Gold has six MAAC games remaining. The top-six teams in the MAAC standings at the end of the regular-season qualify for the 2016 MAAC Softball Championship, which will be held on the campus of the league's regular-season champion.
Game One – Canisius 5, Monmouth 1
Monmouth scored a run in the top of the first, but Canisius answered with a single-run in the home-half of the first when Berzins scored from third base on a wild pitch. Canisius took the lead for good in the first game in the bottom of the second on an RBI-single to right by Berzins which allowed Sharkey to score from third, and then the Griffs broke the game open with three runs in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run double to left off the bat of Keller.
The five runs were more than enough for Canisius sophomore Madi Weathers, who improved her record to 7-7 on the season after she went the distance and allowed just five hits while fanning five. Canisius was credited with 11 hits in the game one win, all off Monmouth starter Amanda Riley, who took the loss in the circle after she allowed five runs to go with a strikeout in 4.2 innings of work.
Game Two – Canisius 5, Monmouth 4 – 11 innings
Berzins' base hit back up the middle with two outs in the 11th inning allowed sophomore Moriah Harris to score the game-winning run from third base, completing Canisius' come-from-behind win in the Griffs' longest game of the 2016 season. Harris started the home-half of the 11th with an infield-single, and she was able to move to third thanks to a sacrifice bunt by freshman Madison Aston and a groundout to second by Sharkey. That set the scene for Berzins, who took a 1-0 offering from Monmouth hurler Sydney Underhill back through the box to lift Canisius to the 5-4 win.
Monmouth scored three times in the top of the first, but Canisius made it a one-run game in the bottom of the first frame thanks to a two-run triple off the bat of senior Meghan Cuda. A solo homer by Monmouth's Jill Freese put the Hawks up 4-2, but Canisius was able to answer the bell later in the game, as the Blue and Gold scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to knot the game at 4-4.
In the sixth, Keller made the score 4-3 in favor of Monmouth with an RBI-groundout, and moments later, Harris tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI-single through the infield that allowed junior Lindsey Silfer to cross the plate. Both teams had chances to win the game in extra innings, but Berzins' single in the 11th proved to be the key hit for the Blue and Gold.
Canisius sophomore Erika Mackie came on in relief and scored the victory in the circle for the Griffs after she threw five innings of scoreless ball and allowed just three hits. Castro started for Canisius and allowed four runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one in six innings of action. Underhill, the MAAC's leader in wins this season with 14, took the loss after she gave up five runs on nine hits while walking four and fanning five in 10.3 innings of work. Underhill threw 146 pitches in the losing effort.
Canisius will close out the home portion of its 2016 schedule on Sunday, May 1, when the team plays host to Rider on Senior Day. First pitch of the MAAC doubleheader is set for 12 p.m.
