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Emily Nicosia and Gianna Fazzolari celebrate the final out as the Canisius softball team defeated Marist 1-0 in the 2021 MAAC Softball Championship in Buffalo, N.Y.
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2
Fairfield FFD 22-14
3
Winner Canisius CAN 25-13
Fairfield FFD
22-14
2
Final
3
Canisius CAN
25-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Fairfield FFD 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 2
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 4 1

W: Churchill, Alexis (8-4) L: Kudlacik, Katie (7-3)

0
Marist MARSB 15-12
1
Winner Canisius CAN 26-13
Marist MARSB
15-12
0
Final
1
Canisius CAN
26-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Marist MARSB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Canisius CAN 0 1 0 0 0 0 X 1 5 1

W: Nicosia, Emily (8-5) L: Haff, Meghan (5-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Survives To Advance to MAAC Championship Series

Playing out of the elimination bracket, the Canisius softball team scored a pair of one-run wins on Friday to advance to the 2021 MAAC Softball Championship series, which will be held on Saturday, starting at noon, at the Demske Sports Complex.

The Golden Griffins (26-13) came back to score twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Fairfield 3-2 in the day's first elimination game. In the tournament's second elimination game Friday evening, the Blue and Gold got a solo homer off the bat of junior Hannah Catallo-Stooks in the second inning and then senior pitcher Emily Nicosia made it stick by tossing a two-hit, complete-game shutout as Canisius defeated Marist. 1-0.

Canisius will take on sixth-seeded Manhattan on Saturday, with the MAAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Softball Championship on the line. The first game is set for noon, and should Canisius win, the two teams will play a winner-take-all final, with game time set for approximately 2:30 p.m.
 
Game One
With two outs and no one on base in the home-half of the second, Catallo-Stooks drove an 0-1 pitch over the fence in left field to give Canisius a 1-0 lead, and that run would be all that Nicosia would need, as Canisius shutout Marist to advance to the Saturday's championship series.

Nicosia earned her eighth win of the season in the circle after she went the distance and fanned seven Marist batters. The East Amherst, N.Y., native faced just 23 hitters in the win, and 61 of her 86 total pitches were strikes. In the seventh inning, Nicosia got a groundout and a strikeout before forcing pinch-hitter Miah McDonald to pop up behind the plate in foul territory for the final out of the game. The complete-game effort for Nicosia was the 20th of her career in Blue and Gold.

The Griffs had five hits in the win off losing pitcher Meghan Haff, who took the loss to fall to 5-2 on the season. Hufford had two base hits in the win for Canisius, her 10th multi-hit game of the season.

Game One
The fourth-seeded Fairfield Stags took a 2-0 lead in the top-half of the fifth after Kaitlin Hoffman ripped a double to center field that pushed to runs across the plate. Canisius answered in the home-half of that inning to cut the lead to 2-1 thanks to an RBI-single off the bat of freshman Sydney Costan that allowed freshman pinch-runner Tiara Johnson to score from second base.

In the seventh inning, Catallo-Stooks started the Griffs' rally with a double to center, and then back-to-back walks issued by Fairfield starter Katie Kudlacik loaded the bases for the home team. With no one out and the bases full of Griffs, junior pinch-hitter Shealyn Ollison drew a walk to push home the tying run, making the score 2-2. Senior Erin Hufford followed Ollison at the plate and sent a fly-ball to shallow left field, but the Stags' left fielder dropped the ball, allowing Costan to race home from third base as the game's winning run. The comeback win for the Griffs on Friday was their second of the postseason, as Canisius erased a 5-1 deficit May 9 to beat Rider 7-5, which allowed the Griffs to advance to the conference's double-elimination bracket event.

Canisius had four hits in the winning effort, with Catallo-Stooks' double to start the seventh serving as the team's lone extra-base hit. Junior Alexis Churchill earned the win in relief for the Blue and Gold after she pitched two scoreless innings to move her record to 8-4 on the year.

Head Coach Kim Griffin's Postgame Comments
"I've been saying all season long, one through nine in our line-up has contributed in different ways, and today was another example of that. Hannah [Catallo-Stooks] has been in and out of our line-up this year, but she's stayed strong and she is playing with confidence, and today is showed. I thought Emily [Nicosia] was really good in game two. She was locked in and we played some great defense behind here. We're excited to get these wins today, but we know we still have work to do."
 
Game Notes
• Canisius will be appearing in the MAAC Championship series for the first time since the 2010 season. That tournament was also played at the Demske Sports Complex.
• Canisius improved to 10-4 at home this year with the two wins. The 10 wins at home are the most for the Griffs since the 2015 campaign.
• The Griffs have played 11 one-run games this season. Friday marks the first time the team has won back-to-back one-run games since Feb. 24, 2018.
• This is the second consecutive time that Canisius has defeated Fairfield in walk-off fashion in the postseason. The last time Canisius faced Fairfield in postseason play in 2016, Canisius posted a 1-0 victory over the Stags in eight innings.
• Costan's stolen base in game one against Fairfield was the 100th stolen base for the Blue and Gold this season.
• The home run for Catallo-Stooks was her second of the season and the fifth in her career.
• The two starts in the circle on Friday were the 53rd and 54th in Nicosia's career.
 
UP NEXT
The Griffs will play sixth-seeded Manhattan on Saturday in the MAAC Softball Championship series. Game One is set for noon, and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Manhattan advanced to the MAAC Softball Championship game by defeating Marist 1-0 in nine inning on Friday.
 
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