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Canisius University Athletics

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Lindsi Dennis
Dean Bogart
4
Niagara NIA 3-21, 2-5 MAAC
5
Winner Canisius CAN 5-21, 3-2 MAAC
Niagara NIA
3-21, 2-5 MAAC
4
Final
5
Canisius CAN
5-21, 3-2 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Niagara NIA 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 8 1
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 0 5 0 X 5 12 1

W: Nicosia, Emily (5-6) L: BERTRAND, Sierra (2-9)

1
Winner Niagara NIA 4-21, 3-5 MAAC
0
Canisius CAN 5-22, 3-3 MAAC
Winner
Niagara NIA
4-21, 3-5 MAAC
1
Final
0
Canisius CAN
5-22, 3-3 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Niagara NIA 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0

W: SZILAGYI, Jennifer (2-3) L: Castro, Lauren (0-5)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Splits With Long-Time Rival Niagara

The Canisius softball team split a MAAC doubleheader with long-time rival Niagara Sunday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex, as the Golden Griffins scored a 5-4 win in the opening game before falling to the Purple Eagles 1-0 in the nightcap. Canisius is now 5-22 overall and 3-3 in MAAC play, while Niagara moved to 4-22 overall and 3-5 in conference action.
 
Game One
Trailing 4-0 in the fifth, Canisius scored five times in the home-half of the frame to take the 5-4 lead. Canisius started the fifth with three-straight base hits, and a Niagara fielding error allowed junior Ashley Barnett to score from third base. Sophomore Lindsi Dennis followed with a base hit to right that drove in fellow sophomores Erin Hufford and Kara Paradowski, and then later in the frame with two outs, senior Denver Keller drove in a pair with a base hit to left that pushed pinch-runners Sue Vi and Lily Wozniak across the plate.
 
The five-run fifth served as enough insurance for Canisius starter Emily Nicosia, who allowed just one base runner in the sixth and seventh innings, en route to her team-leading fifth victory of the season in the circle. Nicosia went the distance to earn the win after she allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits to go with a pair of strikeouts and a walk. Niagara starter Sierra Bertrand took the loss after she gave up five runs in five innings, two of which were earned, on 10 hits. She struck out five and walked one as her record fell to 2-9 on the season.
 
Hufford (three hits) and Paradowski (two hits) led the offensive attack for the Griffs, while freshman Hannah Catallo-Stooks also had two hits on the day, including a ground-rule double in the third inning.
 
Game Two
Niagara pitcher Jennifer Szilagyi helped her own cause with an RBI-single in the second inning, and the senior hurler threw a complete-game shutout in the circle as the Purple Eagles bounced back for a 1-0 victory in the second game of the MAAC twinbill. The win, Szilagy's second of the season, came after she allowed just five hits and fanned one in seven innings of work.
 
For Canisius, redshirt-junior Lauren Castro was the tough-luck loser in the circle, as she allowed just one run on three hits to go with five strikeouts and six walks. Castro's record fell to 0-5 on the year with the loss.
 
In the top-half of the second, Niagara freshman Jenna Patterson led off with a double to the gap in right center, and then moved to third base on a sac-bunt by teammate Jennifer Timm.  Szilagyi followed with a base hit back up-the-middle to plate the game's lone run.
 
Szilagyi held the Griffs to just five hits in the nightcap, as the Blue and Gold was only able to advance one base runner to third base in the losing effort. Sockwell had a double in the game two loss, while Paradowski had a hit and stole her team-leading 26th base of the season.
 
Head Coach Kim Griffin's Postgame Comments
"We are obviously very familiar with Niagara, we know their coaching staff very well and they have a ton of local players, so it always feels good to beat Niagara. We obviously respect them, but when it is time to compete, it is the goal to beat them, so that win in the first game feels really good."
 
"Through the non-conference schedule, we've struggled to solidify who are starting nine was going to be. I think now that conference play has started, we are starting to get there. We have a really big roster, and that provides us with a lot of depth. When one person is struggling hitting-wise, we have other people we can go to. That's been really nice, and we've had some people step up recently, which is good to see."
 
"When we have scored runs, the top of our order with Kara [Paradowski], Erin [Hufford] and Hannah [Catallo-Stooks] are consistently getting on base. That speed at the top of our lineup has been very helpful for us. Erin has been providing a big spark for us, too. She's been finding holes all over the place, which has helped us get big innings started."

Game Notes
• Sunday marked the 120th and 121st all-time meeting between the two long-time rivals, with Canisius holding a 93-27-1 lead in the series.
• Canisius' 93 wins over Niagara are the most for the Griffs against any opponent.
• Sunday marked the third time in the last four seasons where these two schools split the regular-season series.
• Dennis' two RBI in game one on Sunday gives her multiple RBI in two of the team's last four games.
• The two runs batted in by Keller in game one gives the senior 70 RBI in her career.
• Paradowski is just the third player in school history to have 25-or more stolen bases in a single season. Her 26 steals this year are the most for a Griff since Lauren Hope had 33 stolen bases in 2010.
• Paradowski needs one more stolen base to tie former Griff Jacqueline Fusco for third on the school's career steals list. Fusco swiped 53 career bases in her playing days from 1997-00.
• With the split, each team earns one point in the annual "Battle of the Bridge series, an all-sports competition between Canisius and Niagara. The Griffs lead the 2018-19 "Battle of the Bridge" series 17-11.
 
Up Next
Canisius will return to the road for a pair of MAAC doubleheaders April 13-14, starting at Fairfield. The games against the Stags will start at Noon. The Griffs will also play two games at Iona April 14, with that twinbill set to begin at Noon as well.
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