Games 48-49
Canisius (31-16, 12-2 MAAC) at Marist (8-33, 2-10 MAAC)
Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010
Time: Game One starts at 12 p.m.
Place: Gartland Park - Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

PRACTICE SWINGS

• The Canisius College softball wrap up the 2010 regular season on Saturday when the team travels to play Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
• The Golden Griffins enter the day with a 31-16 overall mark and a 12-2 record in MAAC action. The Blue and Gold has won nine-straight league games dating back to April 17, at Manhattan.
• Canisius needs one win to secure at least a tie, and the top overall seed, in next weekend's MAAC Softball Championships. If Canisius wins the MAAC regular season crown, it would be the team's second regular-season title in the last three years and the 13th in program history.
• The Griffs enter the final two road games of the season with a 15-5 record away from the Demske Sports Complex this year. No MAAC team has more road wins this season than Canisius.
• The Blue and Gold closed out the home portion of the 2010 regular season slate May 4, with a split in a non-league doubleheader against Syracuse. Canisius went 11-1 at home this year, and dating back to 2006, the Griffs are 36-4 at home against MAAC rivals.
• Canisius has 30-plus wins for the ninth time in school history and for the second time in the last three years.
• Senior Michelle Fridey leads the team in batting average (.376), runs scored (42), doubles (15) and RBIs (50). She was also named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District I First Team on Thursday, the second-straight year she's received all-district academic accolades.
• Junior Paige Freiberger hit her 11th home run of the season on May 4, in a 4-3 loss to Syracuse. That homer broke the school's single-season home run record, previously held by former Griff Jess Martin, who had 10 home runs in 2005.
• Freshman Katie Medina has 21 hits in the team's last 17 games, and has raised her batting average from .211 on April 10 to .333 entering this weekend.
• Junior Lauren Hope leads the MAAC for the third-straight season with her 31 stolen bases. The next closest player in the league on the stolen base list is teammate Lizzy Gatto, who has 17.
• As a team, Canisius leads the league in runs scored (253), hits (368), doubles (72), triples (18), walks (142) and stolen bases (94).
• Canisius also leads the league in team ERA at 2.37, making the Griffs the only team in the conference to boast a team earned run average less than 3.00.
• Sophomore Caroline Main and freshman Amanda Baun have combined to strikeout 283 opposing batters this season. Canisius is the only team in the league to claim two pitchers ranked among the top-five on the MAAC's strikeout leader list.
• Main has 17 complete games this season, while Baun has been credited with 16 complete games in the circle. This is the first time in school history two pitchers on the same staff have posted more than 15 complete games in the same year.

TOUCH 'EM ALL

• Junior Paige Freiberger  became the school's single season home run leader May 4, when she blasted a three-run shot to left center in the team's 4-3 loss to Syracuse at home.
• The previous single-season home run record was held by Jess Martin, who had 10 long balls in 2005.
• Prior to this season, Frieberger did not have a career homer as a Griff. This year's total alone has moved her into a tie for ninth in school history with former Griffs Janice Hoeltke and Jenny Maheu.

RBI-FRIDEY

• Senior Michelle Fridey set the school's single-season RBI record May 1, and enters this weekend's games with 50 runs batted in.
• In only three seasons as a Griff, the Williamsville, N.Y. native has drive in 111 career runs, which ranks fourth in school history, two shy of passing former teammate Cameron Norton for third all-time on the school's career RBI list.
• The previous single-season RBI record was 47, set by Colleen Sandor during the 1985 season. He record stood for nearly 25 full years.

SCOUTING THE RED FOXES

• Marist enters this weekend with an 8-33 overall record and a 2-10 MAAC mark.
• The Red Foxes have dropped six of their last eight after being swept by Manhattan May 6, at home.
• Junior Kate Malloy is hitting .295 with a MAAC-best 16 doubles to go with 15 runs scored this season.
• Sophomore Nicole DiVirgilio leads the Marist offensive attack with 26 runs batted in to go with her 12 doubles and a homer.
• The Marist pitching staff has a combined ERA of 6.04 this season. Freshman hurler Emily Osterhaus has appeared in a team-high 77.1 innings of work and has 11 complete games.

CANISIUS-MARIST SERIES

• This will mark the 31st and 32nd all-time meetings between these two programs, with Canisius holding a 22-8 lead in the series.
• The Griffs are 5-3 in the last eight regular season contests between these two squads. Last year, Marist earned a split by beating Canisius 4-2 in the final home regular season game of the season for the Griffs.
• Dating back to the 2004 season, Canisius is 8-5 at Marist's Gartland Park, including MAAC Tournament games played there in 2004 and 2009.