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Hempstead, NY -- An RBI double by Canisius outfielder Jenny Maheu broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning and gave the Golden Griffins a 3-2 victory over Long Island University in an NCAA Softball Regional elimination game at the Hempstead regional on Saturday evening. The Blackbirds finish the season with a 34-17 record, their third straight season with 34 victories.
Canisius jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third thanks to three LIU miscues. A fielding error put a runner on first base with nobody out and a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt on the ensuing play put runners on first and second. Sophomore Blaire Porter (Redmond, Wash.) got the next two batters to fly out before a walk to Golden Griffin second baseman Katie Miranto loaded the bases.
Michelle Fridey stepped to the plate for Canisius and hit a perfectly-placed jam shot right down the first base line. Senior #Vanessa Mejia# (Roanoke, Va.) fielded the ball but her throw sailed wide of first, allowing two runs to score. A third runner attempting to score was gunned down at the plate to end the inning.
The resilient Blackbirds would fight back to tie the contest in the bottom of the fourth. A one-out bunt single by senior Celina Castillo (Redwood City, Calif.) started things off and Mejia moved her over to second with a single of her own to right field. A sacrifice by senior Brittany Murphy (Los Alamitos, Calif.) put the pair in scoring position and after a walk loaded the bases, sophomore Brynn Lewis (Woodinville, Wash.) knotted the game at 2-2 with a two-out, two-run single to center field.
LIU had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the sixth as Castillo and Mejia again advanced to second and third with two outs. But Golden Griffin pitcher Lindsay Morris was able to get the next batter to strike out to end the threat.
A pair of singles for Canisius in the seventh gave the team a scoring chance. A fielder’s choice put the Blackbirds one out away from getting out of trouble but Maheu roped a shot to the left-center field wall to score the game-winner.
Porter (20-10) suffered the loss for LIU, allowing only one earned run while striking out three. Castillo had three hits and scored a run in the final collegiate contest of her career. Mejia, who also played her final game in a Blackbird uniform, finishes her career with 195 hits and tied with Randi Gillespie (2004-07) for the top spot on the LIU career hits list.
Trailing by one run in the top of the seventh, the Long Island University softball team put the tying and go-ahead runners in scoring position with only one out but were unable to come through as it dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to Hofstra on Saturday at the Softball Complex at Hofstra University.
Sophomore Mariesha Marker (Keizer, Ore.) led off the seventh with a double that hit the bag at third base and rolled to the wall down the line. Following a pop out by senior Jessie DePippo (Westlake Village, Calif.), classmate Celina Castillo (Redwood City, Calif.) laced a one-out single to left field that put runners on the corners. With Vanessa Mejia (Roanoke, Va.), Castillo stole second to put LIU in prime position to take the lead.
Down in the count 0-2, Mejia rolled over a change-up by Pride pitcher Kayleigh Lotti and bounced to the first baseman Michele DePasquale. Instead of touching the base at first, DePasquale fired a strike to third base and caught Marker straying off the base for the second out of the inning. Lotti would strike out the next batter to preserve the 1-0 victory.
The Pride took the lead in the sixth inning on a leadoff home run by Pam Dreslinski. It was Dreslinksi’s fourth straight game in the NCAA Regionals with a home run. The run was the only one allowed by sophomore Blaire Porter (Redmond, Wash.), who fell to 20-9 on the season. Porter gave up four hits while striking out five.