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Kim Griffin getting water dumped on her after clinching the MAAC Regular Season Title May 8, 2022
Ken Morey
0
Niagara NIA 14-25, 8-11 MAAC
9
Winner Canisius CAN 28-16, 15-4 MAAC
Niagara NIA
14-25, 8-11 MAAC
0
Final
9
Canisius CAN
28-16, 15-4 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Niagara NIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Canisius CAN 4 1 0 4 X 9 7 0

W: Giese, Megan (11-8) L: Crum, Riley (5-11)

0
Niagara NIA 14-26, 8-12 MAAC
8
Winner Canisius CAN 29-16, 16-4 MAAC
Niagara NIA
14-26, 8-12 MAAC
0
Final
8
Canisius CAN
29-16, 16-4 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Niagara NIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Canisius CAN 1 0 0 1 6 8 9 1

W: Nicosia, Emily (8-0) L: Hickingbottom, Maddi (3-9) S: Churchill, Alexis (5)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Sweeps Niagara to Earn MAAC Regular Season Title

On a day where sophomore Megan Giese tossed her second no-hitter this season and Canisius broke the single season program record for stolen bases in a campaign, the Golden Griffins swept Niagara by scores of 9-0 (five innings) and 8-0 (five innings) to earn the 15th MAAC regular season title in program history Sunday evening at the Demske Sports Complex.

The Griffs close out the regular season campaign with a 29-16 record and 16-4 overall in conference play. The 16 MAAC wins are the most in a single season in program history (excluding the conference-only 2021 year).

With the sweep, Canisius earned the No. 1 seed in the 2022 MAAC Softball Championship, which will be held at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, N.Y., May 11-14.

Game 1 Recap
Canisius' offense utilized a pair of four-run innings to earn the five-inning mercy rule win in the first game, backed behind Giese's no-no.

Following graduate outfielder Erin Hufford's leadoff single in the bottom of the first, the Griffs worked a pair of walks, ending Niagara pitcher Riley Crum's night in the circle.

Sophomore backstop Gianna Fazzolari welcomed Purple Eagles hurler Cara Leone to the game by working a bases loaded walk to put Canisius out in front, 1-0.

With one out in the inning, freshman Rosie Gomez hit a ball to Crum at first, who attempted to throw home to get the force out at the plate. But Crum's throw hit Gomez, who was running down the first base line. The ball procceded to hit the back stop and roll down the third base line, allowing all three runners to score to give the home team a 4-0 advantage.

Giese's lone base runner of the contest came in the second, when Crum worked a two-out walk. 

Giese proceeded to retire the next 10 batters en route to earn her second no-hitter of the season.

Canisius put the mercy rule into effect in the home half of the fourth.

Junior outfielder Sophia Recrosio slapped a one-out double to left, scoring freshman pinch runner Abbey Roeser all the way from first.

Recrosio came around to plate the Griffs seventh run on a wild pitch before freshman Saige Alfaro drove in Hufford on a single up the middle.

Fazzolari capped off the inning with a one-out knock through the left side.

In the circle, Giese needed just 65 pitches in the five innings of work, striking out the final two batters she faced in her league-leading 11th victory of the season.

Game 2 Recap

Redshirt senior Emily Nicosia took the ball in game two, tossing four shutout innings of work in her eighth win on the season.

Alfaro put Canisius out in front 1-0, in the first after an errant throw by a Niagara infielder. The ball bounced off the fence and rolled all the way to the right field corner, allowing her to come all the way around to score.

Graduate student Lindsi Dennis doubled Canisius' lead in the fourth, driving a 3-2 pitch to left that scored freshman pinch runner Julissa Garcia from first base.

The Griffs broke the game open in the fifth, sending 10 batters to the plate.

After Hufford scored on a wild pitch, Fazzolari roped a ball up the middle to plate Alfaro, making it a 4-0 ballgame.

Junior outfielder Tiara Johnson helped bring in the fifth run when a Niagara error following her bunt allowed Fazzolari to score.

In the next at bat, Recrosio drove in a pair with her infield single to the shortstop.

After graduate student Shealyn Ollison's ground-rule double put a pair of runners in scoring position, Gomez singled to center to give the Griffs their second walk-off win of the season.

Senior Alexis Churchill entered the circle in relief of Nicosia in the top of the fifth, striking out two batters in her fifth save of the season.

Game Notes
• The 16 conference wins in 2022 are a program record (excluding 2021).
• Canisius broke the single season program record for stolen bases in a single season, surpassing the 103 swiped bags in the 2008 campaign.
• Giese's no-hitter was the 30th in program history.
• Giese became the fourth pitcher in school history to throw multiple no-hitters in the same season, joining Michelle Corrigan and Natalie Kelterborn (1994) and Andrea Bunten (2004), along with becoming just the eighth hurler to throw multiple in their career.
• Nicosia was the only pitcher in the MAAC to not record a loss in the regular season.
• With three stolen bases on the day, Hufford is now fifth all-time with 29 swiped bags in a single season, passing Lori Graham (1996).
• Falquez earned her 28th free pass this season, tying her with five other Griffs for the third most in a single season in school history.

Up Next
• Canisius will host the 2022 MAAC Softball Championship as the No. 1 seed. The top two teams earn a first round bye and will not play on Wednesday. The Griffs will face the winner of Game No. 2 on Thursday afternoon.

All games will be broadcasted on ESPN3 or ESPN+.

To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE.

For complete coverage of Canisius softball, please follow @griffssoftball on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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