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Canisius University Athletics

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Gianna Fazzolari at the plate against Fairfield in 2021
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1
Northern Kentucky NKU 5-3
3
Winner Canisius CAN 2-0
Northern Kentucky NKU
5-3
1
Final
3
Canisius CAN
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Northern Kentucky NKU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 1
Canisius CAN 1 0 1 1 0 0 X 3 5 0

W: Churchill, Alexis (1-0) L: Lauryn Hicks (2-1) S: Giese, Megan (1)

7
South Carolina State SCSU 0-7
9
Winner Canisius CAN 3-0
South Carolina State SCSU
0-7
7
Final
9
Canisius CAN
3-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
South Carolina State SCSU 2 0 0 0 1 3 1 7 13 1
Canisius CAN 7 1 0 0 0 1 X 9 13 1

W: Nicosia, Emily (1-0) L: SMITH,Zarria (0-3) S: Giese, Megan (2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Opens Season 3-0 With Pair of Wins Saturday

For the first time since 2003, the Canisius softball team opened its season with three straight wins, defeating Northern Kentucky and South Carolina State Saturday at the USC Upstate Classic.

The Griffs opened the day with a 3-1 victory against the Norse before closing out the day with 9-7 triumph against the Bulldogs in the nightcap. 

Game 1 Recap
Senior Alexis Churchill was dominant in the circle in her first start of the campaign as the southpaw yielded one run on two hits in five innings of work before handing the ball to sophomore Megan Giese, who tossed two scoreless innings to secure the win.

Sophomore Christie McGee-Ross opened the scoring by crossing the plate on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first. 

Giese gave the Griffs the 2-0 lead in the third on an RBI groundout, before the teams traded solo home runs in the fourth, with the Griffs blast coming off the bat of sophomore Gianna Fazzolari to close out the scoring.

Game 2 Recap
After giving up a pair of runs in the top half of the first inning, Canisius' offense exploded for seven runs on nine hits to take a commanding lead.

With the game tied at two, Fazzolari blasted a three-run home run, putting the Blue and Gold out in front, 5-2.

Later in the frame, freshman Saige Alfaro and graduate student Erin Hufford connected on back-to-back RBI singles, adding to the Canisius lead.

Down 8-3 in the sixth, SC State closed the gap on the Griffs, scoring three runs off of an error and infield single. 

The Bulldogs made it a ballgame in the seventh, putting themselves down just two runs with runners on second and third and just one out in the frame.

Giese, who entered the circle at the start of the seventh, was able to induce a pair of pop outs to give Canisius its second win on the day. 

Head Coach Kim Griffin's Postgame Comments
"We're playing team-first softball and we're very focused on the process, not the result."

"Gianna is being patient and getting her pitch. Erin (Hufford) is gritty at the plate and can get the ball through the infield in any count. Our defense has also been really steady and we've gotten a couple of great pitching performances from Megan and Alexis."
 
Game Notes
• Canisius has started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2003.
• The two runs allowed over the first two games is the least amount of runs opponents have scored since the Griffs allowed just one run in the first two games of the 2009 season.
• Canisius has slugged home runs in the first three games of the season for the first time since 2017.
• Hufford has begun the season 7-12 at the dish, the best start to a season in her collegiate career.
• Fazzolari has slugged a home run in each of the first three games in 2022.
• Giese's single in the first inning against Northern Kentucky was the first hit of her collegiate career.
  
Up Next
• Canisius faces Northern Kentucky for the second time this weekend Sunday at 11 a.m., before squaring off with USC Upstate at 1 p.m.
 
For complete coverage of Canisius softball, please follow @griffssoftball on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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