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Canisius University Athletics

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Alexis Churchill vs. Niagara on April 28, 2021 at the Demske Sports Complex
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0
Rider RID 13-16, 13-16 MAAC
4
Winner Canisius CAN 19-9, 19-9 MAAC
Rider RID
13-16, 13-16 MAAC
0
Final
4
Canisius CAN
19-9, 19-9 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Rider RID 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
Canisius CAN 1 1 0 2 0 0 X 4 5 0

W: Churchill, Alexis (6-2) L: D. Jones (6-9)

7
Winner Rider RID 14-16, 14-16 MAAC
6
Canisius CAN 19-10, 19-10 MAAC
Winner
Rider RID
14-16, 14-16 MAAC
7
Final
6
Canisius CAN
19-10, 19-10 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Rider RID 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 7 9 3
Canisius CAN 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 6 7 0

W: J. Niegocki (2-1) L: Nicosia, Emily (5-4)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball's Win Streak Snapped in Split with Rider

Canisius junior pitcher Alexis Churchill was nearly perfect, allowing just one hit, and senior Erin Hufford went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored as the Golden Griffins took the first game of a MAAC doubleheader from Rider on Saturday at the Demske Sports Complex by the score of 4-0.

In the nightcap, Rider scored six times in the top-half of the seventh and Broncs' reliever Jessie Niegocki worked out of trouble in the home-half of the final frame as Rider came back to defeat Canisius 7-6. The loss ended Canisius' seven-game win streak.

Canisius is now 19-10 on the year, while Rider moved to 14-16 with Saturday's results.

GAME ONE
Churchill faced one batter over the minimum and fanned five en route to her team-leading sixth win of the season as Canisius beat Rider 4-0 to start the four-game MAAC series. The St. Clair, Mich., native had a perfect game going through 5.1 before that bid was broken up by Rider's Kennedy Jarrard, who lined a pitch into right-center field for the Broncs' lone hit of the contest.

Canisius took advantage of a Rider throwing error in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead, and then added a single run in the home-half of the second on an infield-single by Hufford that allowed freshman Sydney Costan to score from third. The Griffs tacked on two more insurance runs in the fourth to push their lead to 4-0. Senior Sue Vi dropped down a squeeze-bunt that allowed freshman Christie McGee-Ross to score, and on that play, another defensive lapse by Rider allowed junior Hannah Catallo-Stooks to score as well.

GAME TWO 
Canisius scored twice in the bottom-half of the second and then posted four runs in the sixth, but Rider scored six runs on five hits in the top-half of the seventh to secure the 7-6 victory. The win for the Broncs on Saturday afternoon snapped Canisius' win streak at eight games, the Griffs' longest MAAC win streak since 2010.

An RBI-double off the bat of freshman Gianna Fazzolari and another Rider defensive error gave Canisius the early 2-0 lead. Rider cut the Blue and Gold's lead in half to 2-1 in the top-half of the second after junior Kaitlin Vazquez hit a sac-fly to right field.

Canisius pushed its lead to 6-1 after scoring four in the bottom of the sixth, a rally which saw the Griffs score all four of those runs with two outs in the frame. A wild pitch and an error allowed two runs to score, giving Canisius the 4-1 lead, and then pinch-hitter Shealyn Ollison and Hufford followed with RBI-singles to put the Blue and Gold up by five runs.

Despite Rider scoring twice, Canisius led 6-3 with two outs in the top-half of the final frame, but back-to-back hits that each drove in a pair of runs put the Broncs ahead for the first time all day at 7-6. In the Griffs' half of the seventh, the Blue and Gold had two runners on with two outs, but the home team could not take advantage, as Rider reliever Jessie Niegocki earned her second win of the season in the circle by getting a groundball-out to seal the game.

Canisius starter Emily Nicosia took the loss in the circle to fall to 5-4 on the year. Hufford had two hits in the second game and stole a base, while fellow senior Kara Paradowski went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base as well in the losing effort.

Head Coach Kim Griffin's Postgame Comments
"In that first game, Alexis Churchill was so, so good. She had total command out there and kept their hitters off balance. She was locked in from the start, and the offense was able to give her the run-support she needed. That was a pretty impressive performance by her today for sure. That second game - what can you say, really? You have to give Rider a ton of credit because they could have packed up for the day, but they kept battling and they came back to get us. I thought we battled too, we just couldn't get over the hump in the seventh. We came up on the short-end there, but that was a hard-fought game between two teams battling for postseason seeding."
 
Game Notes
• Canisius' seven-game win streak is the longest for the team since the 2010 season when the Griffs ripped off nine-straight wins over MAAC opponents.
• The shutout win was the Griffs' seventh of the season, the most for the program since the 2015 campaign.
• Churchill is 4-0 in her last five starts, where she has allowed just one run in 23.2 innings of work.
• Hufford now has seven multi-hit games this season after getting two hits in each game on Saturday.
• Paradowski's stolen base in game two gives her 99 for her career.

Up Next
Canisius will close the home portion of its 2021 schedule on Sunday with a doubleheader against Rider. Game one will start at noon at the Demske Sports Complex. Sunday is the team's "Senior Salute" Day, and the team will honor its seniors at the end of the twinbill.
 
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