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Canisius University Athletics

#Griffs The Official Home of the Canisius University Golden Griffins | #Griffs
Rylee Alfaro May 1, 2023 at Niagara
Ken Morey
13
Winner Canisius CAN 24-13-1, 13-2 MAAC
2
Niagara NIA 7-29, 3-12 MAAC
Winner
Canisius CAN
24-13-1, 13-2 MAAC
13
Final
2
Niagara NIA
7-29, 3-12 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Canisius CAN 1 0 4 6 2 13 11 0
Niagara NIA 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 0

W: Giese, Megan (13-6) L: Hickingbottom, Maddi (4-13)

7
Winner Canisius CAN 25-13-1, 14-2 MAAC
0
Niagara NIA 7-30, 3-13 MAAC
Winner
Canisius CAN
25-13-1, 14-2 MAAC
7
Final
0
Niagara NIA
7-30, 3-13 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Canisius CAN 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 7 11 0
Niagara NIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1

W: Churchill, Alexis (7-1) L: Leone, Cara (1-6)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Uses Longball to Sweep Niagara Monday

Canisius plated a season-high 13 runs before blanking Niagara in the second game to earn 13-2 and 7-0 victories Monday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action from the Niagara Softball Field in Lewiston, N.Y.

The Golden Griffins improved to 25-13-1 and a league-leading 14-2 in conference play with the pair of wins. Canisius finished the season going 9-1 on the road during league play, besting last season's 8-2 record. The Purple Eagles have fallen to 7-30 overall and 3-13 against MAAC opponents.
 
Game 1 Recap
Sophomore Rosie Gomez got the Griffs on the board in the top of the first with an RBI double down the left field line, Canisius broke the game open in the third with a four-spot.

Following Gomez's two-out walk, junior Megan Giese was hit by a pitch to load the bases for freshman Rylee Alfaro.

On the sixth pitch she saw from Niagara starter Maddi Hickingbottom, Alfaro slugged the ball over the left field fence for a grand slam, Canisius' second of the season.

The Griffs' power continued in the fourth when three extra-base hits brought in six runs to make it an 11-2 ballgame.

Joining in with her sister, sophomore Saige Alfaro also left the yard, hitting a solo jack to center, good for her second long ball of the season.

Later in the frame, Giese roped a two-run double to the gap, putting Canisius out in front, 8-2.

Two batters later junior Gianna Fazzolari continued the home run derby for the Griffs, connecting on a three-run shot for Canisius' second homer of the frame.

The Griffs added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fifth, highlighted by Gomez's solo shot for the fourth homer of the game and gave Canisius a season-high 13 runs. All of the runs besides Saige Alfaro's solo blast came with two outs.

Giese earned her seventh win during league play in the five-inning contest, allowing two runs on three hits while fanning six batters.
 
Game 2 Recap
Graduate Alexis Churchill continued to dominate in league play, taking a perfect game into the fifth inning.

Both Churchill and Niagara starter Cara Leone kept the offense off the scoreboard for either team during the first two
frames before Canisius' bats came alive in the third.

Following suit of the first game, the Griffs plated five two-out runs after batting around.

Leading 1-0, used three straight hits beginning with Gomez's two-run single up the middle. Gomez then scored from first on Rylee Alfaro's double in the next at bat while Fazzolari capped off the frame with a base hit to the right side that snuck past the Niagara infielder.

Fazzolari drove in two more runs on the day in the fifth when she stepped to the plate with one out. The backstop sent a 1-0 pitch to dead center that kept traveling and snuck over the fence for a two-run shot and her second home run on the day.

Game Notes
• Canisius is now 99-27-1 against Niagara all-time and 42-11-1 in Lewiston.
• The Griffs scored a season-high 13 runs in the first game, surpassing the previous high of 12, which was accomplished in the first game of the campaign on Feb. 17 versus Tennessee Tech and again on April 2 at Marist.
• McGee-Ross tied her career high with four stolen bases in the opening contest. The outfielder also reached the 30-stolen base mark on the season, becoming just the third player in program history to achieve the mark, joining Lauren Hope and Kara Paradowski.
• Canisius slugged four home runs in the 13-0 win, tying the team high on the year which was previously set on April 2 at Marist.
• Canisius mercied Niagara in five innings in three straight games dating back to the 2022 campaign. The Griffs beat the Purple Eagles, 9-0 and 8-0 on May 8 at the Demske Sports Complex.
• In the last four contests, Canisius has shutout Niagara in three of those games.

Up Next
• Canisius concludes the 2023 regular season with a pair of doubleheaders at the Demske Sports Complex. The Griffs will host Rider on Friday before squaring off against conference newcomer Mount St. Mary's. First pitches are scheduled for noon. Friday's contests will be aired on ESPN+ while Saturday's will be available on ESPN3.

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