The Canisius softball team extended its win streak to four with a doubleheader sweep of MAAC opponent Rider on Sunday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex. The Golden Griffins pounded out 14 hits in game one en route to an 11-6 victory before taking advantage of four Rider errors in a 10-3 win in the second game of the day. Canisius is now 20-28 overall and 11-5 in MAAC play, while the Broncs slipped to 7-38 overall and 4-13 in conference action.
The two wins on Senior Day allowed moved Canisius' home winning streak to six straight, and allowed the team to post an 8-3 mark at the Demske Sports Complex in 2016. Every Canisius player that had an at-bat on Sunday scored at least one run and drove in an RBI in the win, led by junior Samantha Sharkey, who finished the twinbill by going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Fellow junior Jessica Berzins went 5-for-8 in the two games with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBI and senior Alexis Roman closed out her career at home with three hits, including a double, to go with four RBI and three runs scored.
Junior Lindsey Silfer had three doubles and two RBI on Sunday, while sophomore Moriah Harris had three hits as well, including a double, and three runs batted in. Canisius sophomore pitcher Madi Weathers picked up her fifth-straight win in the circle in game one, while fellow sophomore Erika Mackie came on in relief and earned up her team-leading ninth win of the season after she allowed two runs, both unearned, on two hits while fanning three in 4.2 innings of work.
Game One – Canisius 11, Rider 6
The Griffs jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and led 11-2 after four innings in the first game en route to the 11-6 win over Rider to start the day. Freshman Lauren Castro drove in the Griffs' first two runs in the first inning with a double to the gap in left center, and then Canisius scored four times in the second to take the early 6-0. After Rider scored two runs in the top-half of the third, the Blue and Gold answered with three more tallies in the bottom of the frame, with RBI-hits coming from Sharkey and Berzins.
Rider was able to keep the game from ending early via the mercy-rule with a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Weathers was credited with the win after she went five innings and allowed four run on 11 hits while striking out a season-high seven batters. Rider starter Mega Ailand fell to 1-17 on the year after she gave up nine runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Game Two – Canisius 10, Rider 3
Canisius' offense picked up where it left off in game two, exploding for four runs in the third and then adding four more runs in the fifth, as the Griffs scored the 10-3 win. Rider led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the second before Canisius knotted the game at 1-1 thanks to a leadoff homer by senior Meghan Cuda, her 15th career home run. In the third, Canisius took advantage of three Rider errors to score four times, highlighted by a double to the wall in left center by Silfer that pushed Roman and Castro across the plate.
In the fifth, Rider trimmed the Griffs' lead to 6-3 with a pair of runs, but again, Canisius' offense took care of business, as the Blue and Gold scored four times in the home-half of the fifth, thanks to RBI-hits by freshman Destiny Holani, Berzins and a two-run double off the bat of Roman. Castro started the game in the circle for Canisius, but she was lifted after throwing 2.1 innings after she took a line drive off her shin. Mackie came on in relief and shut down the Rider offense, hold the Broncs to just two hits in the game's final 5.2 innings.
Canisius will close out the 2016 regular season next weekend on the road, starting at Quinnipiac on Friday, May 6. The Griffs wrap up the season at MAAC-leading Marist May 7. The doubleheader at Quinnipiac is set to begin at 1 p.m., while the twinbill at Marist is scheduled for a noon start time.
