Softball 7/14/2020 2:15:00 PM

MAAC 40th Year Celebration - Softball Team

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) will be celebrating its 40th anniversary throughout the 2020-21 academic year, continuing its mission to provide student-athletes the opportunity to succeed in both academics and athletics.

As part of its 40-year celebration, the conference will highlight some of the best student-athletes in its four-decade history. MAAC Softball traces back to 1984, when Iona College captured the first MAAC Championship. Since then, Canisius has won 12 conference crowns, more than double the next closest program. Additionally, Canisius' five wins in the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament are three more than all the other MAAC schools combined.

The five former Griffs honored on the MAAC 40th Anniversary Team are Andrea Bunten '05, Michelle Corrigan '94, Lauren Hope '11, Katie (Miranto) Burd '08, MS '10 and Jody Tassone '97. Also honored to the team is former head coach and Canisius Hall of Famer Mike Rappl, who was one of three coaches selected to headline the 40th Anniversary Team.

Andrea Bunten • 2001-05
One of six players in MAAC softball history to be named the MAAC Softball Championship MVP twice (2004 and 2005), Andrea Bunten appeared in 104 career games as a Griff where she posted 42 wins and 10 saves in 506.0 innings of work… The school's career strikeout leader with 663, she fanned a school-record 238 batters in 2004... The 2005 MAAC Pitcher of the Year, Bunten is one of three pitchers in school history with multiple no-hitters to her credit.

Michelle Corrigan • 1990-93
A four-year starter in the circle for the Griffs from 1990-93, Michelle Corrigan graduated from Canisius as the softball program's career leader in complete games, strikeouts and earned run average… Corrigan helped start of a run of five-straight MAAC Tournament titles (1993-97) after she became the first player in conference history to earn MAAC Tournament MVP honors in back-to-back seasons… Her 31 career shutouts are still a program record to this day, as is her career 0.84 ERA… A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, she was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Lauren Hope • 2005-08
A four-time All-MAAC honoree, Lauren Hope became just the second player in MAAC history to steal more than 100 bases in her career… The program's all-time leader in stolen bases with 118, Hope held the MAAC's career steals record for eight years before it was passed in 2016… The 2005 MAAC Rookie of the Year, just the second in school history, the Los Osos, Calif., native ranked sixth in the nation in stolen bases during her freshman campaign… In 2008, she became the first player in MAAC history to swipe more than 40 bags, and she earned All-MAAC First Team honors that season, her second-straight appointment on that all-star unit.

Katie (Miranto) Burd • 2005-08
A four-time letterwinner, Katie (Miranto) Burd started all 192 games of her career in Blue and Gold, which ran from 2005-08… The program's career leader in hits, runs scored and total bases, (Miranto) Burd was a three-time All-MAAC First-Team selection, and she was voted the 2008 MAAC Co-Player of the Year after helping lead the Griffs to a school-record 39 victories… A three-time MAAC All-Academic Team choice and a 2008 Academic All-American, the North Tonawanda, N.Y., native became the second female in school history to be named the MAAC Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2008, the same year she was honored as the College's Female Athlete of the Year… She was enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Jody Tassone • 1993-96
A starter in every career game, Jody Tassone helped lead the Griffins to a 133-32 overall record and a 45-3 MAAC mark from 1993-96… The school's career leader in doubles and triples, she ranks second all-time in career RBI with 125… In 1996, Tassone became the fourth player in conference history to win the MAAC Player of the Year and MAAC Tournament MVP honors in the same season, but her best year was her sophomore campaign in 1994, when she finished the season ranked fifth in the nation in batting average after hitting .486… An all-regional and all-America honoree during her career on Main Street, Tassone was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Mike Rappl • 1980-2014
When Mike Rappl retired after the 2014 season, he was the winningest softball coach in MAAC history with 831 wins to his credit – 330 of those coming in MAAC play… The first MAAC softball coach to reach the 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800 career win milestones, Rappl led the Golden Griffins to 13 MAAC regular-season championships, 12 MAAC Tournament titles and 11 trips to the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament… The Buffalo, N.Y., native guided the Blue and Gold to 14-straight seasons with 20 wins from 1989-2002, along with eight 30-win seasons and 22-straight winning campaigns, stretching from 1981-2002… Rappl, who also coached the Canisius women's basketball team during his tenure at the College, has five NCAA Division I Softball Tournament victories to his credit – which is three more than all the other teams in the MAAC combined… A member of the Canisius Sports Hall Fame, he has also been inducted into the Western New York Softball Hall of Fame and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.

Print Friendly Version