Griffs looking to bounce back during 10-game homestand

By Ian Caskie, Sports Reporter

The saying usually goes, “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” but the Griffs’ latest roadtrip certainly started like the lamb and quickly transformed into the lion. The team faced off against MAAC rivals Mount St. Mary’s and Marist where they escaped with a record just under .500 (2–3).

Canisius started the trip at The Mount last Friday, March 29. Ella Johel got the scoring started early, lifting her fourth triple of the year into the outfield, driving in the Griffs’ first run of the day. Senior Emily Ilano broke the game open with a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and after a two-run error by The Mount, Natalie Quonce capped off the game with a pinch-hit double. Olivia Manchester stood tall on the mound, pitching a five-hit complete game and giving up only one earned run in the 6–2 win.

Canisius must have smelled blood in the water in Emmitsburg. The Griffs exploded for six runs in the second inning and did not look back from there. Second baseman Bailey Alatorre smashed her team-leading sixth home run in the third, and a hit parade by Johel, Tabitha von Kolen and Rosie Gomez ended the day early as the Griffs took care of business in five innings for the 10–0 win. Senior Toria Kover pitched a gem on the mound, going for eight strikeouts and five hits in a shutout performance to earn her first win of the season.

The team fell in a close final game on Saturday, March 30. The Mount jumped on freshman pitcher Mikaila Obenrader, putting up three runs in the first inning. An RBI double by Alatorre in the fourth and a sacrifice hit by shortstop Vivi Vargas got the Griffs in striking distance, but an RBI single by Mount St. Mary’s in the fifth was too much to overcome. Alatorre hit for another RBI double in the sixth, but the Griffs came up just short of the sweep, falling 4–3. 

It was then onto the fox den in Poughkeepsie. Coming into the series against Marist, the Red Foxes were on a 15-game win streak, with three of the team’s hitters, 1B Haley Ahr, SS Miah McDonald and CF Peyton Pusey in the top five in the conference in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. Marist kept the game within a run until the 5th, but the Foxes pelted seven additional runs to end the game in a 8–0. Manchester was handed her first loss of the season, her record now sitting at an impressive 8–1 with a 3.79 ERA through nine starts and 16 appearances.

Marist poured on another 11 runs against the Griffs in Game 2, but an RBI single from Gomez in the first kept the stop in Poughkeepsie from being a shutout. A grand-slam off the bat of Marist utility hitter Maddie Gore led to an early bus ride for Canisius, the game ending in a six-inning run-ahead with a final score 11–1. The Griffs sit 12–25 overall and tied for seventh in the conference. Not to be overlooked is the team’s hitting numbers. Canisius is third in the MAAC with a team batting average of .311. Johel sits third in the MAAC in individual average, with teammates Ilano sitting at fourth in conference doubles and Alatorre at fifth for home runs.

The Griffs now must reset quickly before they take on another cluster of conference opponents, but at least they will be at home for the near future. They will start off a three-game series against Rider with games on Friday and Saturday. The Quinnipiac Bobcats then make their stop for a two-game set on April 8, the first game of the set will be the season’s Athletes For Athletes game. The Griffs will then see Iona and St. Peter’s before making the rounds in Western New York with stops to local rivals Niagara and UB.

Photo courtesy of Tom Wolf