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Alyssa Cloutier looks to advance from second base in a 2024 MAAC Softball Championship tournament game in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on May 9, 2024.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
6
Winner Canisius CANISIUS 23-21
2
Niagara NIAGARA 29-21
Winner
Canisius CANISIUS
23-21
6
Final
2
Niagara NIAGARA
29-21
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Canisius CANISIUS 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 6 5 2
Niagara NIAGARA 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 3 2

W: Giese, Megan (18-10) L: Leone (5-10)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Returns to MAAC Championship Round with Win Over Niagara

Junior Alyssa Cloutier and senior Christie McGee-Ross each drove in a pair of runs and senior pitcher Megan Giese went the distance and allowed just two runs on three hits while fanning seven, as the Canisius Golden Griffins defeated Niagara 6-2 in the 2024 MAAC Softball Championship elimination round final, played Friday evening at Gartland Park in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
 
With the victory, Canisius (23-21) advanced to the championship round of the 2024 MAAC Softball Championship tournament where the Blue and Gold will face-off with Siena on Saturday for the league's title and the conference's automatic berth into next weekend's NCAA Division I Softball Championship. This marks the fourth-straight year, and the 21st time in program history, where the Griffs have advanced to the MAAC softball championship round. Niagara's season came to an end with the loss. The Purple Eagles closed out the 2024 campaign with a record of 29-21.
 
GAME RECAP
The Griffs got on the scoreboard first in the elimination game final thanks to a two-run base hit off the bat of Cloutier, who took a pitch from Niagara starter Cara Leone and lined it into center field, allowing sophomore Morgan Cook and senior Sydney Costan to score. In the third, Canisius added another run to make the game 3-0 thanks to an RBI-single by Giese, who drove in fellow senior Gianna Fazzolari. For Giese, that RBI marked her second run batted in during this week's tournament after she became the first Canisius pitcher in program history to hit a home run in a MAAC Tournament game in the Griffs' 5-1 win over Marist on Thursday.
 
In the fourth inning, Canisius stretched its lead to 4-0 on the power of a solo homer to left off the bat of Costan, who finished the day by going 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Costan's homer, which banged off the left field foul pole, started a three-run rally for the Griffs, as moments later, McGee-Ross sliced a pitch through the right side of the infield to drive in sophomore Madysen Burkey and Cloutier to make the score 6-0 in favor of Canisius.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Niagara scored twice to trim Canisius' lead to 6-2, but Giese locked down the Purple Eagles from there, retiring 10 of the next 15 batters she faced over the final 3.1 innings of work. The Buffalo, N.Y., native earned her 18th win of the season in the circle, and her eighth career MAAC Championship victory, after she went the distance for her 18th complete-game effort of the season.
 
Canisius tallied five hits in the winning effort and drew six walks off three Niagara pitchers. Leone took the loss for the Purple Eagles after she allowed four runs on three hits to go with four walks in 3.0 innings of work.
 
GAME NOTES
• Friday marked the 133rd time in program history that Canisius played against Niagara, but it was just the seventh time the two long-time rivals squared off in the MAAC Softball Championship. The Griffs are now 5-2 in those seven contests.
• The win on Friday is the 60th MAAC Softball Championship tournament victory for the Griffs in program history, which ranks first among all MAAC schools.
• Friday was just the second time Cloutier has driven in multiple runs in a game this season.
• Costan's homer in the fourth inning was the sixth of her career, and two of those six home runs have come against Niagara.
• Giese's seven strikeouts in Friday's win gives her 76 career Ks in 15 MAAC Softball Championship appearances in the circle.
• McGee-Ross extended her streak of reaching base safely to 15 games with her RBI-single in the fourth inning.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will face Siena in the 2024 MAAC Softball Championship game on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Griffs will have to beat the Saints twice on the day in order to win their 14th title in league history. The games will be aired live on ESPN+.
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