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Canisius University Athletics

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Hannah Catallo-Stooks jogs home after hitting her first career grand slam in Canisius' 8-0 win over Niagara April 28, 2021.
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0
Niagara NIA 6-17, 6-17 MAAC
8
Winner Canisius CAN 17-9, 17-9 MAAC
Niagara NIA
6-17, 6-17 MAAC
0
Final
8
Canisius CAN
17-9, 17-9 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Niagara NIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Canisius CAN 0 1 7 0 X 8 8 0

W: Churchill, Alexis (5-2) L: Crum, Riley (5-7)

3
Niagara NIA 6-18, 6-18 MAAC
11
Winner Canisius CAN 18-9, 18-9 MAAC
Niagara NIA
6-18, 6-18 MAAC
3
Final
11
Canisius CAN
18-9, 18-9 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Niagara NIA 2 1 0 0 0 3 7 0
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 9 2 11 13 2

W: Nicosia, Emily (5-3) L: Thompson, Julia (1-5)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Sweeps Niagara with a Mercy-Rule Walkoff Win

The Canisius softball team earned two, five-inning, victories in Wednesday's doubleheader with "Battle of the Bridge" rival Niagara.
 
The Golden Griffins took game one, 8-0 in five innings thanks to a seven-run burst in the home-half of the third inning. In the second game, Canisius trailed the Purple Eagles 3-0 before posting a nine-run fourth inning en route to the 11-3 win in five frames.
 
With the sweep, Canisius is now 18-9 on the season, while Niagara falls to 6-18.

GAME ONE
Senior Lindsi Dennis led off the bottom of the second with a double into center to get Canisius its first runner in scoring position on the afternoon. With sophomore pinch-runner Tiara Johnson on third for the Griffs, freshman designated player Christie McGee-Ross executed a successful safety-squeeze bunt to get Blue and Gold on the board with the 1-0 lead.
 
The Griffs went off in the bottom of the third, scoring seven runs on five hits, highlighted by the first career grand slam for junior Hannah Catallo-Stooks. Canisius ended the first game with eight hits - three of which came off the bat of senior Kara Paradowski. Dennis also had two hits in the game one victory, while McGee-Ross drove in a pair for the home team.
 
Junior Alexis Churchill went the distance and moved her record in the circle to 5-2 on the year with the shutout victory. Churchill, who held Niagara without a hit through three innings, earned the victory after she gave up just two hits to go with two strikeouts and two walks.

GAME TWO
 Niagara came out fighting in the nightcap, scoring the game's first three runs with a pair in the top of the first and then another run in the top-half of the second to take a 3-0 lead.

Canisius had just one hit through three frames, but once again, the Griffs' bats got hot, as the Blue and Gold scored nine runs on 10 hits in the fourth to take a 9-3 lead after four innings of play. In that inning, freshman Sydney Costan got things started with a lead-off homer. That home run started a stretch where Canisius recorded seven-straight hits. Costan, Catallo-Stooks and senior Sue Vi all had two hits in the fourth-inning rally.
 
With the mercy rule in sight, Canisius loaded the bases with two outs, leading 10-3. Catallo-Stooks worked a 3-2 count before Niagara relief pitcher Riley Crum served-up ball four to seal the Griffs' mercy rule walk-off victory, as pinch-runner Tiara Johnson scored from third.
 
Senior Emily Nicosia got the start for Canisius in game two, and she allowed two earned runs over four innings of work. Freshman Megan Giese came on in relief of Nicosia and earned the victory after she pitched a scoreless fifth inning.

Head Coach Kim Griffin's Postgame Comments
"I thought this was a really good team effort today. We got contributions up and down the line-up and we had some clutch performances off the bench in both games. I'm really happy for Hannah [Catallo-Stooks]. She's been trying so hard to find her way this season, but today she came into the first game as a pinch-hitter and hit that grand slam on the first pitch she saw. She just dug deep and found a way to be successful. That's the way we've been playing as a team all year."
 
"We are getting great leadership from our upperclassmen. Our fifth-year kids, Morgan [Altman] and Sue [Vi] are playing free and having fun and it sets a great example for the rest of the team. Our upperclassmen are providing great, consistent effort each and every day. Then you add in our younger players and their efforts, and it is a great combination. Everyone is just feeding off everyone else's energy. It feels like anyone can be the spark for us in any game. Like Sydney [Costan] today in the second game – we were struggling a bit offensively, and she stepped in there and got us going with that homer to start the fourth inning."

Game Notes
• Canisius now leads the all-time series against Niagara by a 95-27-1 margin.
• Six of Canisius' 18 wins this season have been mercy-rule victories.
• The Griffs have now won six-straight games, the team's longest MAAC winning streak since the 2010 team won nine-straight league games during the regular season.
• As a team, Canisius stole three bases in the two games on Wednesday. The Griffs lead the MAAC with 65 bases this season.
• The grand slam from Catallo-Stook is the first Canisius grand slam since Lauren Castro had one against St. Bonaventure on April 23, 2019.

Up Next
Canisius will continue its six-game MAAC homestand May 1-2 with a series against Rider. Canisius will play two games against the Broncs on both Saturday and Sunday, with game time set for noon on both days.
 
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