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Softball celebrates winning the 2022 MAAC Softball Championship at the Demske Sports Complex on May 14, 2022.
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0
Siena SIE 32-23
4
Winner Canisius CAN 32-16
Siena SIE
32-23
0
Final
4
Canisius CAN
32-16
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Siena SIE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Canisius CAN 1 0 0 3 0 0 X 4 6 0

W: Giese, Megan (14-8) L: Fitzmaurice, Ava (10-7)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Wins 2022 MAAC Championship

Canisius sophomore Megan Giese scattered three hits and fanned five batters over seven innings of work and fellow sophomore Gianna Fazzolari went 2-for-3 with an RBI to help lead the Golden Griffins to a 4-0 victory over Siena in the 2022 MAAC Softball Championship game Saturday morning at the Demske Sports Complex.
 
With the win, Canisius (32-16) earns the MAAC's automatic berth into next weekend's NCAA Division I Softball Championship Regional. The league title is the 13th in program history, and the first since 2009. Canisius will learn its opponent and regional destination Sunday night at 7 p.m., when the official NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket is unveiled live on ESPN2.
 
For her efforts in the circle, Giese was named the 2022 MAAC Softball Championship Most Outstanding Player. The Buffalo, N.Y., native is the 10th different Canisius player to be named the MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player, and she is the seventh Griff pitcher to receive the honor. Giese earned all three victories in the circle for the Blue and Gold in the conference's tournament, allowing just three runs in 21.0 innings of work while collecting 19 strikeouts.
 
Joining Giese on the 2022 MAAC Softball All-Championship were teammates Erin Hufford, Tiara Johnson, Christie McGee-Ross and Sophia Recrosio.
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius scored first in the home-half of the first inning on an RBI-single by Fazzolari, and that ended up being all the support Giese would need on the day, as she ended up earning her seventh-straight victory in the circle, dating back to April 23. With one down in the bottom of the first, McGee-Ross reached base on an infield-single, and would later come around to score the game's first run after Fazzolari dropped a single down the third-base line. The score would remain 1-0 until the home-half of the fourth when Canisius scored three times to break the game open.
 
In that frame, Fazzolari led off with a base hit to right. She was lifted for a pinch-runner, freshman Sam Weber, who would score moments later on an RBI-double off the bat of Johnson to make the score 2-0 in favor of the home team. Recrosio gave Canisius a 3-0 led with a single up the middle that pushed Johnson across the dish, and Recrosio would later score on an RBI-base hit by freshman Emily Ilano.
 
Giese had a perfect game working for 5.2 innings before Siena's Sabrina Vargas ended that effort with a two-out infield-single. The Saints (32-23) added a second base runner moments later on a base hit by Isabella Pardo, but Giese ended the threat herself by striking out pinch-hitter Sophia Caputo.
 
In the seventh, Siena had a runner on first with one out before Giese was able to induce a pair of groundouts to third base to end the contest. Giese threw 114 pitches in the win, and allowed just one Siena base runner to reach second base, as her record improved to 14-8.
 
Canisius had six hits in the win, with five of those coming off losing pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice, who fell to 10-7 on the year in the circle. Johnson's double in the fourth was the only extra-base hit on the day for either team, while McGee-Ross and Weber were each credited with a stolen base in the winning effort.
 
GAME NOTES
• Canisius' 13 MAAC Softball Championship crowns are the most for any school in the league.
• Saturday marked just the second time Canisius played Siena in the MAAC Softball Championship tournament. The only other meeting came back on April 27, 1991, when the Griffs beat the Saints 15-0.
• This year served as the 11th time Canisius has hosted the MAAC Softball Championship. Prior to Saturday, the last time the Griffs won a MAAC Softball championship while serving as the host school was during the 2002 event.
• Of the 13 MAAC Championships won by Canisius, eight have come when the Griffs have collected 30-or more wins in a season.
• Canisius' 32 victories are the most for the program since 2010 when the Blue and Gold racked up 34 wins on the year.
• Canisius' current 12-game win streak is tied for the fourth-longest win streak in the nation, and the Blue and Gold's 11-game home win streak is the seventh-longest in the country.
• Giese's 177 strikeouts on the year are the most for a Canisius pitcher in a season since former Griff Amanda Baun fanned 187 batters in 2010.

UP NEXT
Canisius will travel to take part in the 2022 NCAA Division I Softball Championship, which is scheduled to be played May 20-22. Canisius opponent and regional destination will be announced Sunday night at 7 p.m., when the official NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket is unveiled live on ESPN2.
 
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