The Canisius softball team closed out its first road trip of the 2024 campaign by earning a split in a non-conference doubleheader at George Washington in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday afternoon. The host Revolutionaries came back and beat the Golden Griffins 3-2 in the first game before Canisius answered with a 4-2 victory in the nightcap of the twinbill.

Canisius moved to 2-6 on the year with the split, while George Washington saw its record move to 4-3.

GAME ONE RECAP

The Griffs scored two runs in the top-half of the first inning in game one to take a 2-0 lead. Senior Christie McGee-Ross started the contest off with a base hit on the first pitch of the game, and she later came around to score on an RBI-single off the bat of senior Gianna Fazzolari. Canisius pushed a second run across the plate moments later when freshman Ella Johel scored from third on a sacrifice fly by senior Megan Giese.

The Revolutionaries got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI-double by Mandy Lauth, and in the sixth inning, Ashley Corpuz tied the game at 2-2 with a lead-off homer to the game in left centerfield. George Washington took the lead for good moments later when Lauth scored on an RBI-single down the left-field line.

Junior Kate Wiggins got the start in the circle for Canisius and took the loss after she allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in 5.1 innings of work. She struck out one and walked one before freshman Olivia Manchester came on in relief with a runner on first base and no one out in the home-half of the sixth. Manchester allowed a hit and got two outs in the sixth before Wiggins re-entered the game to secure the final out of th sixth inning.

McGee-Ross went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the loss, while Fazzolari and Geise each picked up an RBI for the Griffs. Both teams recorded six hits in the first game of the doubleheader.

GAME TWO RECAP

In the second game, McGee-Ross went 3-for-3 with two triples, two runs scored and an RBI and Geise went the distance and fanned eight in the circle to help lead the Blue and Gold to a 4-2 victory.

As they did in game one, the Griffs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over the Revolutionaries with a pair of runners crossing the plate in the top-half of the first. After leading off the game with a triple, McGee-Ross scored the Griffs' first run on an RBI-double off the bat of Johel, and then the Griffs pushed their lead to 2-0 moments later when Johel scored on an RBI-double by Rosie Gomez. 

George Washington cut the Canisius lead in half  to 2-1 in the bottom of the first thanks to a lead-off home run to left field by Maggie Grecko, but the Griffs extended their advantage with two more runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead. McGee-Ross' second triple of the day in the fourth pushed teammate Dani Ross across the dish, and then Johel drove in McGee-Ross from third on an RBI-ground out to the right side of the infield.

The four runs were more than enough insurance for Geise, who picked up the complete-game victory after allowing two runs on seven hits to go with eight strikeouts and four walks.

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