Canisius Golden Griffins
UniversityCanisius University
Head coachKim Griffin (9th season)
ConferenceMAAC
LocationBuffalo, NY
Home stadiumDemske Sports Complex (Capacity: 1,200)
NicknameGolden 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]

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

Years Coach Record %
1980–2014Mike Rappl831–526–2.612
2015–presentKim Griffin192–206–1.482

Roster

2023 Canisius Golden Griffins roster
 

Pitchers

  • 77 – Rylee Alfaro – Freshman
  • 23 – Alexis Churchill – Graduate Student
  • 17 – Megan Giese – Junior
  • 11 – Toria Kover – Sophomore
  • 8 – Kate Wiggins – Sophomore

Catchers

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

Outfielders

  • 1 – Madysen Burkey – Freshman
  • 3 – Alyssa Cloutier – Sophomore
  • 14 – Gabi Farris – Freshman
  • 25 – Tiara Johnson – Senior
  • 5 – Christie McGee-Ross – Junior
  • 2 – Sophia Recrosio – Senior
  

Infielders

  • 7 – Bailey Alatorre – Freshman
  • 15 – Saige Alfaro – Sophomore
  • 12 – Morgan Cook – Freshman
  • 4 – Sydney Costan – Junior
  • 32 – Sofia Escoto – Freshman
  • 44 – Destiny Falquez – Junior
  • 42 – Rosie Gomez – Sophomore
  • 6 – Emily Ilano – Sophomore
  • 10 – Nicole Rivait – Graduate Student
  • 18 – Dani Ross – Freshman

Utility

  • 22 – Joelle Jay – Freshman
  
Reference:[27]

Season by season results

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

Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 Kim Griffin 26–1422–112nd
2022 Kim Griffin 32–1816–41stNCAA Regionals
2023 Kim Griffin 30–16–117–31st
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

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. ↑ NEWS, Ben Siegelspecial to the news, Aaron MansfieldSpecial to the news, Alan KryszakSPECIAL TO THE News, Albert SterbakSpecial to The News, Beverly Bishop Special to The News, BENJAMIN SIEGEL, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS, ANDREW PARKS, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS, ALAN MALLACH /SPECIAL TO THE NEWS, BOB HABES SPECIAL TO THE NEWS, BARRY BROWN SPECIAL TO THE. "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. ↑ "2023 Softball Roster - Canisius College Athletics". Gogriffs.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  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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