Games 13-17
Canisius (8-4) at the George Mason Cherry Blossom Classic
Hosted by George Mason - Fairfax, Va.
Dates: March 15-17
The Field: Canisius, George Mason, Ohio State and Pittsburgh

SOFTBALL HEADS SOUTH TO PLAY IN CHERRY BLOSSOM CLASSIC

• The Canisius College softball team returns to the diamond March 15-17 with five games at the George Mason Cherry Blossom Classic in Fairfax, Va.
• The Golden Griffins are 8-4 on the year after going 1-3 last weekend at the Lady Pirate Classic at Hampton University in Hampton, Va.
• The Blue and Gold's 10-0 loss to Delaware in five innings March 8, snapped the team's six-game winning streak.
• This weekend will be Canisius' final tournament of the 2013 regular season.

PRACTICE SWINGS

• Canisius scored a season-high 15 runs in the team's 15-2 win over UMES March 9. Those 15 runs are the most for the team since the Griffs defeated Lehigh 15-1 in six innings on March 15, 1998.
• The Griffs have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 78-45 this season.
• As a team, the Blue and Gold is hitting .327, led by senior Stephanie Pfentner and her team-best .571 (16-for-28) batting average.
• Freshman Meghan Cuda was named the MAAC's Rookie of the Week on Tuesday after she hit .429 last week with three triples, three runs scored and four RBIs last week at Hampton.
• Cuda leads the nation in triples per game and the Griffs' eight triples on the season through 12 games leads the country as well.
• Freshman Tori Nappo leads the Griffs with 12 RBIs and her RBI-per game average is 87th best in the NCAA. Sophomore teammate Robin Kennery ranks second on the squad with 10 runs batted in this season.
• Canisius is 16-for-18 in stolen base chances this season, with Cuda leading the way with five stolen bags.
• Junior pitcher Jen Consaul leads the Griffs' pitching staff with a 5-2 record with one save and a 1.86 ERA in 11 appearances. She has 38 strikeouts in 49.0 innings of work this year.
• Senior hurler Amanda Baun is 3-2 with a 2.57 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 30.0 innings of work. Her four strikeouts March 9 against Hampton allowed her to become the 10th pitcher in school history to fan 300 batters in her career.

RAPPL NEEDS ONE FOR 800

• Canisius head coach Mike Rappl enters this weekend's action one win shy of reach 800 wins for his career.
• The only coach in the program's history, Rappl is the winningest coach in any sport in the MAAC.
  
• A 1977 graduate of Canisius, Rappl would be the fourth Division I head softball coach to reach the 800-career win mark this season, joining the club with Tory Acheson (Tennessee State), Kathy Strahan (Sacramento State) and Karen Weekly (Tennessee), who all earned their 800th career victory in 2013.