Junior Emily Ilano went a combined 4-for-5 with four RBI and senior Megan Giese struck out 14 over 12 innings of work in the circle to help lead Canisius to a sweep of Mount St. Mary's 6-0, 11-0 to open up Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference softball play Sunday at the Demske Sports Complex.
The Golden Griffins are now 7-10 overall on the season and 2-0 in league play, while the Mountaineers drop to 6-16 and 0-2 in conference play.
GAME ONE RECAP
Game one began as a pitchers duel, with Giese and The Mount's Olivia Murphy combined to allow to just four base runners through the first three innings.
The Griffs broke through in the bottom of the fourth, plating six runs on five hits and an error to grab a 6-0 lead. Giese plated the first two runs of the frame on a double to center field that scored Emily Ilano and Rosie Gomez before a Madysen Burkey single brought home the next two runs to extend the cushion to 4-0. Singles by Christie McGee-Ross and sophomore Gabi Farris accounted for the final two runs of the fourth.
Giese got the start in the circle for Canisius and pitched all seven innings, allowing two hits while striking out 10 to earn the win.
Burkey, Gomez and Ilano all went 2-for-3 at the plate, with Giese, McGee-Ross, Farris and Gianna Fazzolari all adding one hit.
GAME TWO RECAP
The nightcap saw Canisius jump out a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Gomez singled down the left-field line to score Burkey before Ilano doubled home Gomez to give the Griffs the early lead.
Canisius added five runs in home half of the third to stretch their lead to seven. Fazzolari plated McGee-Ross for the first run of the frame before Ilano connected on a three-run home run to make it a 6-0 contest. A RBI single by Ross closed out the scoring in the frame.
The Griffs capped their offensive outburst in the fourth inning, adding four more runs to build an 11-0 cushion. Giese started off the frame with a RBI single, while a sacrifice fly from Stefanie and run-scoring singles from Ross and junior Hanna Hagerman accounted for the four runs in the inning.
Giese got the start in the circle for game two, improving her record to 6-4 on the season. She pitched all five innings, allowing one hit with four strikeouts.
Ilano was 2-for-2 with four RBI to lead a Canisius lineup that pounded out 13 hits in the contest. Gomez was 3-for-3 with a RBI while junior Dani Ross was 2-for-3 with two RBI.
GAME NOTES
• Canisius is now 9-3 all-time against Mount St. Mary's, and has won the last four contests.
• Giese now has 36 strikeouts against Mount St. Mary's in four games
• Giese has recorded 525 strikeouts for her career, putting her two away from matching second all-time in program history.
• Ilano has gotten on base safely in the last six games and has four multi-hit games during that period.
• Ross recorded her first career multi-hit game in the second game as she went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
• Rosie Gomez went a combined 5-for-6 during the doubleheader.
• The Griffs put up double-digit hits in consecutive games for the first time this season.
• Canisius shut out its opponent for the first time this season.
UP NEXT
Canisius takes to the road for the first time in conference play when it travels to Rider for a three-game series in Lawrenceville, N.J. March 29-30. Friday's doubleheader is slated for a 2 p.m. start while Saturday's finale is scheduled for a noon start.
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