Canisius Golden Griffins softball

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Canisius Golden Griffins
Canisius Athletics wordmark.png
University Canisius University
Head coachKim Griffin (10th season)
Conference MAAC
Location Buffalo, NY
Home stadium Demske Sports Complex (Capacity: 1,200)
Nickname Golden Griffins
ColorsBlue and gold [1]
   
NCAA Tournament appearances
1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2022
Conference Tournament championships
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2022
Regular Season Conference championships
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2022, 2023

The Canisius Golden Griffins softball team represents Canisius University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Golden Griffins are currently led by head coach Kim Griffin. The team plays its home games at the Demske Sports Complex located on the college's campus. [2]

Contents

History

Since joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1990, the Golden Griffins have won 15 regular season titles to go along with 13 conference tournament championships in 19 championship game appearances, making them the most successful program in MAAC softball history. [3] Under former head coach Mike Rappl, the team won the MAAC tournament championship, the regular season championship, or both in 17 of 18 seasons from 1993 to 2010, making the team one of the most dominant in the history of Western New York college sports. [4] [5] The team had only seven losing seasons in 34 years with Rappl as coach. [6] Rappl was named MAAC Coach of the Year seven times, winning the award outright each year from 1993 to 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2008, and sharing the award with Linda Glum of the Iona Gaels in 1992. [7]

Canisius has qualified for the NCAA Division I softball tournament a MAAC record 12 times, doing so each year from 1994 to 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, each year from 2007 to 2009, and most recently in 2022. [8] Overall, the program has a record of 5–25 in 30 appearances in the NCAA tournament, the most wins among any MAAC program. The only other program to win a game in the NCAA tournament were the 1998 Niagara Purple Eagles, who won two play-in games. [9]

In the Golden Griffins first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 1994, Canisius faced off against UNC Greensboro in the qualifying round, winning the best-of-three playoff in three games. In doing so, they became the first MAAC team to win a game in the NCAA tournament. [10] After defeating the Spartans, Canisius faced off against eventual NCAA champion Arizona and were defeated 7–0. [11] [12] In the losers bracket, they faced Rutgers, who they defeated 4-3 and advanced in the losers bracket. [13] The Golden Griffins were eliminated from the tournament by Texas A&M, losing 9–0. [14] While the program qualified for the play-in round of the tournament in 1995, 1996, and 1997, they failed to win a game and were eliminated, twice by UMass in 1995 and 1997, and Princeton in 1996. [15] After the expansion of the NCAA tournament in 1999, [16] the Golden Griffins automatically qualified for the 2000 as a result of winning the MAAC tournament. The team went on to face UCLA in their first game, losing 8–0 in five innings via mercy rule. [17] In their first game in the losers bracket, Canisius defeated Bethune–Cookman by a score of 3–2 in extra innings. [18] They were eliminated from the tournament after losing to Iowa by a score of 2–1 in a game that went to extra innings. [19] Despite making the NCAA tournament in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007, Canisius failed to win a single game over the course of the tournaments and were eliminated. [9] After losing to Arizona in the 2008 NCAA Division I softball tournament, the Golden Griffins snapped their tournament winless streak by defeating LIU Brooklyn by a score of 3–2. [20] However, they were eliminated from the tournament in their next game, losing 5–1 to Hofstra. [21] In the 2009 NCAA Division I softball tournament, the program's final NCAA appearance under Mike Rappl, the team was eliminated after losing games to Ohio State and Kentucky. [22] [23]

The Golden Griffins returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 years in 2022, the program's first appearance under coach Kim Griffin. The team was defeated in their first game against Florida, losing 10–1 in five innings. [24] [25] Canisius was eliminated from the tournament after losing 3–0 to Wisconsin. [26]

Coaching history

YearsCoachRecord%
1980–2014 Mike Rappl 831–526–2.612
2015–presentKim Griffin192–206–1.482

Roster

2024 Canisius Golden Griffins roster
 

Pitchers

  • 17 – Megan Giese – Senior
  • 23 – Liv Herrington – Freshman
  • 11 – Toria Kover – Junior
  • 28 – Olivia Manchester – Freshman
  • 2 – Carrie Sidare – Freshman
  • 8 – Kate Wiggins – Junior

Catchers

  • 21 – Gianna Fazzolari – Senior
  • 26 – Hanna Hagerman – Junior
  • 9 – Natalie Quonce – Sophomore
 

Infielders

  • 7 – Bailey Alatorre – Sophomore
  • 12 – Morgan Cook – Sophomore
  • 4 – Sydney Costan – Senior
  • 32 – Sofia Escoto – Sophomore
  • 42 – Rosie Gomez – Junior
  • 25 – Rebecca Hai – Freshman
  • 6 – Emily Ilano – Junior
  • 18 – Dani Ross – Sophomore
  • 15 – Dani Stefanie – Freshman

Outfielders

  • 1 – Madysen Burkey – Sophomore
  • 3 – Alyssa Cloutier – Junior
  • 14 – Gabi Farris – Sophomore
  • 10 – Ella Johel – Freshman
  • 5 – Christie McGee-Ross – Senior
 
Reference: [27]

Season by season results

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Canisius Golden Griffins (America East Conference)(1980–1989)
1980 Mike Rappl 5–9
1981Mike Rappl 9–4
1982Mike Rappl 12–10
1983Mike Rappl 12–8
1984Mike Rappl 15–8
1985Mike Rappl 28–9
1986Mike Rappl 20–6–1
1987Mike Rappl 17–8
1988Mike Rappl 16–9
1989Mike Rappl 20–9
Canisius Golden Griffins (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)(1990–present)
1990Mike Rappl 21–11–14th
1991Mike Rappl 27–1011–22nd
1992Mike Rappl 22–76–02nd
1993Mike Rappl 36–310–01st
1994Mike Rappl 38–811–11st NCAA Regionals
1995Mike Rappl 28–1411–11st NCAA Play-In
1996Mike Rappl 33–711–11st NCAA Play-In
1997Mike Rappl 31–1410–21st NCAA Play-In
1998Mike Rappl 22–1814–21st
1999Mike Rappl 32–1214–21st
2000Mike Rappl 34–239–74th NCAA Regionals
2001Mike Rappl 28–1514–21st
2002Mike Rappl 33–1613–32nd NCAA Regionals
2003Mike Rappl 15–316–108th
2004Mike Rappl 23–309–73rd NCAA Regionals
2005Mike Rappl 22–1910–63rd NCAA Regionals
2006Mike Rappl 28–2313–31st
2007Mike Rappl 27–2112–41st NCAA Regionals
2008Mike Rappl 39–1415–11st NCAA Regionals
2009Mike Rappl 26–259–74th NCAA Regionals
2010Mike Rappl 34–1913–31st
2011Mike Rappl 20–217–96th
2012Mike Rappl 20–3011–53rd
2013Mike Rappl 22–256–107th
2014Mike Rappl 18–308–128th
2015Kim Griffin 26–1915–5T–1st
2016Kim Griffin 23–3213–74th
2017Kim Griffin 21–329–119th
2018Kim Griffin 12–358–1210th
2019Kim Griffin 14–318–129th
2020Kim Griffin 8–90–0N/A

Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic

2021Kim Griffin 26–1422–112nd
2022Kim Griffin 32–1816–41st NCAA Regionals
2023Kim Griffin 30–16–117–31st
2024Kim Griffin 0–00–0
Total:1,036–744–3 (.582)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[28] [29] [30] [31]

See also

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Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's and certificate programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canisius Golden Griffins</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Canisius University

The Canisius University Golden Griffins are composed of 16 teams representing Canisius University in intercollegiate athletics. These teams include men's and women's basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming and diving. Men's sports include baseball, ice hockey, and golf. Women's sports include volleyball, soccer, and softball. The Golden Griffins compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for most sports, excluding men's ice hockey which competes in Atlantic Hockey.

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References

  1. ↑ "Canisius College Style Guide 2014" . Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Demske Sports Complex". GoGriffs.com. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  3. ↑ "Softball Championship History". maacsports.com.
  4. ↑ "Sullivan: Erin Hufford has Griffs primed for run at MAAC softball title". May 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ O'Brien, Owen. "Rappl poured his heart into coaching at Canisius". Buffalo News.
  6. ↑ "Softball History & Records". Canisius College Athletics.
  7. ↑ "Softball Individual Awards". maacsports.com.
  8. ↑ Bronstein, Jonah. "Canisius softball wins MAAC, makes NCAA tournament". Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
  9. 1 2 "Softball Postseason History". maacsports.com.
  10. ↑ "(Team) 1994 Softball (2013) - Hall of Fame". Canisius College Athletics.
  11. ↑ "Softball History vs Canisius College". University of Arizona Athletics.
  12. ↑ Ben Siegel, Aaron Mansfield, Alan Kryszak, Albert Sterbak, Beverly Bishop, BENJAMIN SIEGEL, ANDREW PARKS, ALAN MALLACH, BOB HABES, BARRY BROWN. "TOP-RANKED 'CATS BLANK GOLDEN GRIFFS IN SOFTBALL". Buffalo News.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "1994 NCAA Women's College World Series". Softball History USA. December 2, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Softball History vs Canisius College". Texas A&M Athletics – 12thMan.com.
  15. ↑ "25 Years Later: Princeton's Run to the Women's College World Series". Princeton University Athletics.
  16. ↑ "1999 NCAA Women's College World Series". Softball History USA. December 3, 2020.
  17. ↑ Stephens, Eric (May 19, 2000). "UCLA Steals One From Canisius, 8-0". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ↑ "Softball History vs Canisius College". Bethune–Cookman University Athletics.
  19. ↑ Siegel, Ben. "IOWA OUSTS CANISIUS IN NINTH". Buffalo News.
  20. ↑ "LIU Softball Season Comes To Close With Losses To Hofstra & Canisius In NCAA Tournament". northeastconference.org.
  21. ↑ "HOFSTRA DEFEATS CANISIUS, WILL FACE ARIZONA IN HEMPSTEAD REGIONAL FINALS". Hofstra University Athletics.
  22. ↑ Staff Writer. "Ohio State roundup: Softball team rallies from four runs down". The Columbus Dispatch.
  23. ↑ "Kentucky Ends Softball's Season". Canisius College Athletics.
  24. ↑ "Canisius softball loses NCAA Regional opener to Florida". wgrz.com. May 20, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Gators softball crushes Canisius Golden Griffins, keep national championship dreams alive". The Independent Florida Alligator.
  26. ↑ Journal, Jake Kocorowski | Wisconsin State. "Wisconsin softball tops Canisius to extend stay in NCAA Tournament". Wisconsin State Journal.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ "2024 Softball Roster". Canisius University Athletics.
  28. ↑ Mike Rappl. "Mike Rappl – Head Coach – Staff Directory – Canisius College Athletics". Gogriffs.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  29. ↑ "Softball History & Records – Canisius College Athletics". Gogriffs.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  30. ↑ Kim Griffin. "Kim Griffin – Head Coach – Staff Directory – Canisius College Athletics". Gogriffs.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  31. ↑ "Canisius Softball Program Records (PDF) – Canisius College Athletics" (PDF). Gogriffs.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
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