Three Griffs Earn NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Honors

Three Griffs Earn NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Honors

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MAAC Sports

Buffalo, N.Y. - Three members of the Canisius College softball team were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Louisville Slugger All-Mid Atlantic Region team, which was released last week.

Junior outfielder Jenny Maheu (Hollister, Calif.) and senior second baseman Katie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y) earned first-team All-Mid Atlantic Region honors, while junior pitcher Juliette Bowers (Morgan Hill, Calif.) was chosen to the second team. Canisius is the only MAAC school to have players named to this year’s regional all-star squad.

Maheu finished her junior season tied for the league lead in batting average at .405 and hits with 70, making her one of two players in school history to collect 70 hits in a single-season. The 5-foot-2 centerfielder reached base safely in 50 of her 52 games played and led the Blue and Gold with 15 doubles while driving in 22 runs. In the NCAA Tournament last weekend, Maheu went 3-for-9 with two doubles and an RBI, highlighted by her RBI double in the top of the seventh inning to help lift the Griffs to a 3-2 win over Long Island, the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2000. A first-team All-MAAC selection, she also earned MAAC All-Tournament accolades and was named to the MAAC All-Academic team as well. This marks the first time in her career she’s been named to the all-regional list.

Miranto finished her career at Canisius by hitting .405 with 70 hits and a school-record 54 runs scored in her senior campaign. The school’s all-time leader in career at-bats, hits and runs scored, she drove in 40 runs and ranked in the top-10 nationally in triples with eight in 2008. She leaves Canisius ranked in the top-10 in school history in 10 different offensive categories and closed out the year as the MAAC’s Co-Player of the Year, the MAAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and the Canisius College Federated Insurance Female Athlete of the Year. This is the second time she has earned first-team all-region honors, having also made the list in 2006. Miranto finished her career as a three-time MAAC All-Academic selection and was named to the ESPN The  Magazine Academic All-District I First Team for the second-straight year.

Bowers became the fourth pitcher in school history to win 20 games in a season and was named the 2008 MAAC Pitcher of the Year after she went 20-3 in the circle with a 2.24 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 147 innings of work. The 2008 MAAC Pitcher of the Year helped lead the Griffs to a 24-5 record in games she started and ranked among the top-five in the MAAC in eight different statistical categories. A member of the 2008 MAAC All-Tournament Team, Bowers was also recognized for her work in the classroom by being named to the MAAC All-Academic Team and to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I First Team.

Canisius closed out the 2008 campaign with a 39-14 overall record, which is a new program record for wins in a single season. The Griffs secured their 12th MAAC regular season title after going 15-1 in league play and also earned the school’s 11th MAAC Tournament crown and 10th NCAA appearance.