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Canisius University Athletics

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Sofia Escoto waits for a pitch in a home game against Rider on April 4, 2025.
Lindy Feider
2
Winner Canisius CAN 20-17, 10-5 maac
1
Niagara University NIA 5-25, 3-12 maac
Winner
Canisius CAN
20-17, 10-5 maac
2
Final
1
Niagara University NIA
5-25, 3-12 maac
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 7 0
Niagara University NIA 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 0

W: Manchester, Olivia (14-1) L: Tamayo, Aubrey (1-9)

11
Winner Canisius CAN 21-17, 11-5 maac
3
Niagara University NIA 5-26, 3-13 maac
Winner
Canisius CAN
21-17, 11-5 maac
11
Final
3
Niagara University NIA
5-26, 3-13 maac
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Canisius CAN 2 4 0 0 5 11 12 2
Niagara University NIA 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 0

W: Kover, Toria (2-7) L: Jackson, Sage (4-10)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Scores Two Wins at Niagara

The Canisius softball team extended its win streak to five straight with a pair of MAAC road wins over long-time Niagara on Thursday afternoon, taking game one 2-1 before coming back to defeat the Purple Eagles 11-3 in five innings.
 
Canisius improved to 21-17 overall and 11-5 in MAAC play with the two victories, while Niagara fell to 5-26 overall and 3-13 in conference action.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
Junior Bailey Alatorre's RBI-double in the top-half of the sixth inning drove home pinch-runner Gabi Farris with the game-winning run as the Golden Griffins took the first game of the league doubleheader by the score of 2-1. Alatorre's double, one of the team's two doubles in the game, came with two outs and Farris standing on second base. That run put the Blue and Gold back in the lead for good after the Purple Eagles knotted the game at 1-1 in the fifth.
 
Canisius took a 1-0 lead in its half of the fifth after senior Alyssa Cloutier singled through the right side of the infield, allowing fellow senior Morgan Cook to score from second base. The Griffs' lead was short-lived however, as Niagara freshman JC Haney hit her first career homer over the fence in left in the bottom-half of the frame to make the score 1-1.
 
Canisius starting pitcher Olivia Manchester improved to 14-1 on the year after she retired six of the final seven Niagara hitters she faced in the game's final two frames. In the seventh, Selah Moyer led off the inning for Niagara with a base hit before Manchester got two strikeouts and a ground ball out to end the contest. Manchester went the distance and allowed one run on five hits while fanning seven in the victory. Niagara's Aubrey Tamayo took the loss to fall to 1-9 on the season after she gave up two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out five.
 
Cloutier went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the win for the Blue and Gold, who reached the 20-win mark for the fifth consecutive year. She also recorded a stolen base in the game, one of three stolen bases on the day for the Griffs. Junior Sofia Escoto had a double for Canisius, and Cook ended the first game by going 1-for-3 with a run scored in her first start since March 7.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
The Griffs sent seven batters to the dish and scored twice in the top of the first in game two, but Niagara answered with three runs in the home-half of the frame to take an early 3-2 advantage. In the second, Canisius took the lead for good with three more runs thanks to an RBI-single by senior Rosie Gomez that drove in a pair and an Escoto double that pushed Gomez across the plate from first base.
 
In the fifth inning, freshman Tabitha von Kolen drove in two runs with her team-leading sixth triple of the season, and she later scored on a base hit back up-the-middle off the bat of sophomore Ella Johel to make the score 8-3 in favor of Canisius. An RBI-single by Escoto later in the inning made the score 10-3 in favor of the visiting team, and Canisius was able to get an eight-run lead at 11-3 moments later after junior Natalie Quonce bunted for a base hit that allowed Farris to score from third.
 
The scoring outburst was more than enough support for Canisius starter Toria Kover, who earned her third win of the season in the circle after she gave up three runs on three hits to go with three strikeouts and a walk in 5.0 innings of work. Niagara marched three pitchers into the circle in game two, with starter Sage Jackson taking the loss after she gave up six runs on six hits to go with three walks in 1.2 innings of action.
 
The Griffs banged out 12 hits in the mercy-rule win, led by Escoto, who went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Von Kolen and Johel each had two hits, and both players had triples in the game, while Gomez recorded her eight multi-hit game of the season.
 
GAME NOTES
• Canisius has played more games (134) against Niagara than any other opponent. The Griffs lead the all-time series 103-30-1.
• Canisius improved to 6-3 on the season in one-run games.
• Four of the Griffs' 11 MAAC wins have come by mercy-rule.
• Seven of Allatorre's 23 RBI this season have come against league opponents.
• With hits in both games, Escoto extended her hitting streak to five straight.
• von Kolen has now reached base safely in 11-straight games. She did not have a hit in the first game, but go on base thanks to a fielder's choice in the top-half of the fifth in game one.
• Johel's triple in the second game was her fifth of the season, making her the 19th different player in school history to record five-or more triples in a single season.
• Manchester has fanned multiple batters in seven-straight starts and in 13 of her last 14 appearances, dating back to March 15.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will return to Niagara Softball Field to close out the three-game MAAC series with the Purple Eagles on Friday. Game time is set for noon.
 
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