Number One In Hitting & Pitching

MARISSA MILLER COMMITS TO CANISIUS

Marissa Miller of Nichols, NY has verbally committed to play softball for Canisius College beginning with the 2011 season.

Marissa is a senior at Tioga Central High, where as a catcher (she also plays outfield) she led her team to the 2009 Class "C" Championship game. She has also been honored twice as an All-New York State player.

Marissa also plays for the STPS Ponies of Binghamton, NY. She joins Val Nappo and Jen Consaul as freshmen on the 2011 team.
Congratulations Marissa, see you in the fall!

A sample of Marissa's hitting. Quite a powerful swing!

Paige Freiberger And Amanda Baun Honored By MAAC

Junior Third Baseman Paige Freiberger was honored by the MAAC today as its Player Of The Week...

Freiberger hit .364 (4-for-11) with five RBIs, three runs scored, a double and two homers
last week as the Golden Griffins went 3-1 in the Colonial Classic in Washington, D.C. In
the team’s 10-2 win over Army March 6, she went 2-for-2 with four RBIs and two runs
scored after she hit a pair of two-run homers, and she drove in Canisius’ first run in the
team’s come-from-behind 3-2 win over Binghamton later that afternoon. Freiberger went
1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored in the Griffs’ 4-1 win over George Washington as well.

For the second consecutive week, freshman Amanda Baun was honored by the MAAC as its Pitcher Of The Week...

Baun went 2-1 with a save and an 0.47 ERA in 15 innings of work last week as the Golden Griffins posted a 3-1 record at the Colonial Classic in Washington, D.C. She on in relief against Army and earned the win after she tossed four innings of one-hit ball, and then picked up her second win of the weekend in relief after she held Binghamton scoreless over two innings in the team’s 3-2 come-from-behind win March 6. Against George Washington, the freshman hurler picked up her first collegiate save after she logged two innings and struck out three in the team’s 4-1 win over the Colonials.

Congratulations Paige and Amanda!

Brittany Wood Has Left Canisius

Although she used a year of eligibility by playing in fall ball last September, pitcher Brittany Wood has decided to leave Canisius College, and will not be playing for the Griffs. Good luck to her wherever she goes.

Brief Summary Of The Colonial Classic

Because Saturday's games this past weekend were blacked out and information was days in coming, for the record here is what happened:

Canisius 10 Army 2 (6)

Paige Freiberger was 2 for 2 (both homers) with 4 RBIs
Lizzy Gatto was 2 for 4 with a homer, 2 RBIs and a stolen base
Lauren Hope was 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 stolen bases
Michelle Fridey was 2 for 3 with a double and 2 stolen bases
Katie Lancellotti had 2 hits; Stephanie Pfentner hit a double; Emily Helbig had a hit
Caroline Main started the game, and was relieved by Amanda Baun in the 3rd inning.

Canisius 3 Binghamton 2

The Griffs were losing 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th inning with one out when...
Emily Helbig singled
Chloe Contreras pinch ran for her
Katie Medina singled
Lauren Falzone singled, loading the bases
Lauren Hope doubled in Chloe for the tying run, and Katie with the winning run
Caroline Main started the game, and was relieved by Amanda Baun in the 6th inning.

There, I think I finally have it right.
Sunday's game are chronicled below.

MAAC Standings March 8, 2010

Canisius 10-8
Fairfield 4-4
Iona 3-4
Niagara 3-5
Siena 2-6
Marist 1-3
Rider 1-7
Manhattan 0-0
St. Peter's 0-0

Game 18 @ George Washington

Canisius 4
George Washington 1

...Lauren Hope, hit-RBI-Run-2 Stolen Bases...Caroline Main gets the win, 5 strikeouts...Emily Helbig, 2 for 3, RBI...Katie Medina, 2 walks, stolen base, run...Amanda Baun, 3 strikeouts, 15 on day...Griffs 3-1 at Colonial Classic, 10-8 heading to spring break.

Paige Freiberger Hit 2 Homers Saturday

Just found out Paige hit 2 against Army yesterday to give her 4 for the season.
I told you she'd be hitting them out!

Game 17 vs. Binghamton (@ Washington, DC)

Binghamton 1
Canisius 0

Amanda Baun, 12 strikeouts

Lauren Hope's 7th Inning Double Beats Binghamton Saturday

Canisius entered the bottom of the 7th inning in their game with Binghamton yesterday down 2-1. With 1 out Emily Helbig singled; Chloe Contreras pinch ran for her. Katie Medina and Lauren Falzone then singled for the Griffs, loading the bases. Lauren Hope then doubled to center field scoring Chloe and Katie. Griffs won 3-2.

Caroline Main started the game for Canisius and was relieved in the 6th inning by Amanda Baun who picked up the win.

Saturday March 6, 2010 Scores

Canisius 10
Army 2 (6)

Canisius 3
Binghamton 2

JEN CONSAUL COMMITS TO CANISIUS

Pitcher Jen Consaul, who is a senior at Churchville-Chili (near Rochester, NY), has verbally committed to play softball at Canisius College beginning with the 2011 season.

Jen was named to the 2009 All-Greater Rochester team. She finished her junior season at Churchville-Chili with a 1.22 ERA, 220 strikeouts, and 4 no hitters. On May 1 of last year, she pitched a perfect game against Olympia High, striking out 10. As a batter, she hit .403.

Jen also plays for the Rochester Lady Lions, a very good travel team. I happened to see Jen pitch at last year's Aunt Rosie's Tournament, and believe me, she can bring it!

Congratulations Jen, see you in the fall!

Amanda Baun Leads The MAAC In Pitching

As of March 2, Canisius freshman Amanda Baun is the number one pitcher in the conference.

Her statistics:

ERA #1 (2.33)
Wins #1 (4)
Strikeouts #1 (53)
Shutouts #1 (2)
Opponent's Batting Average #2 (.212)

Not bad for someone who's started only 7 college games in her life!

Michelle Fridey And Amanda Baun Honored By MAAC

Michelle Fridey was named today by the MAAC as its Player Of The Week...

Fridey leads the Golden Griffin offense through the team’s first 14 games of the 2010 season, as she is hitting .415 (17-for-41) with five doubles, two home runs, a triple, 16 RBIs and six runs scored. So far this season, the senior captain has moved up the school’s career RBI list by eight spots, fueled by her team-leading four multi-RBI games. Twice this year she’s matched her career-high with four runs batted in during a game, most recently against Eastern Kentucky, where she went 2-for-2 with a homer, a double, two runs scored and four batted in as the Griffs posted a 14-6 victory

Amanda Baun was named today by the MAAC as its Pitcher Of The Week...

Baun is 4-3 with a 2.33 ERA in her first 45 innings of work in the circle for the Golden
Griffins. She leads the team’s pitching staff with 53 strikeouts in her first eight career
appearances, highlighted by her 14-strikeout, three-hit shutout victory over Norfolk State
Feb. 20. In her first collegiate start Feb. 13, against Florida Gulf Coast, she fanned 12
batters, and she has allowed five or fewer hits in her last six outings, of which, five have
been in the starting role.

Very Good Weekend For The Griffs

The Golden Griffins finished the Coastal Carolina Tournament 3-2, and they gave #33 DePaul a good game today, but the encouraging sign was the continuing emergence of their offense. Nine home runs (2 grand slams), 39 hits (that's with three 5 inning games), and 31 runs are what the Griffs need with two young pitchers. Well, maybe it's more than they need. The Griffs are hitting .287 as a team, 26 points above last year's final number. Opponents are hitting .248 against them.

I'm wondering how good sophomore Lizzy Gatto is going to be. The DePaul coach insisted that her home run against the Blue Demons was the result of a "bad pitch". Well, then don't go throwing Lizzy "bad pitches" or else she'll blast it out of the park! Lizzy is currently hitting .400.

Michelle Fridey is hitting .390 with 16 RBIs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers. Emily Helbig is at .359 which is scary because historically her average rises once she gets to MAAC play. Lauren Hope is at .313 with 11 runs and 9 RBIs.

But moreover, the Griffs seem to be gelling as an offensive unit. Last season they would go long spells with cold bats, relying on the arm of Mallory Aldred, but we're not seeing that this season. And I think they are steps ahead of the rest of the MAAC after watching them closely, although Fairfield's Sarah Minice beat Pittsburgh in 11 innings and will be a challenge.

I thought the most impressive win this weekend was against Jacksonville, a team that was ranked 37th in the nation and beat Virginia Tech and gave Florida a good game. The Griffs shut them down, 5-0. The Canisius pitchers got good innings in, and need more, but at this point last season, the Griffs were 6-7 so they are on target, and with a tougher schedule.

Next weekend the Griffs are scheduled to play at George Washington U., where I believe they can win all four games. However, they had an awful lot of snow recently, so maybe it's in doubt. We'll see.