Baseball Picked First in MAAC Preseason Poll

Baseball 3/31/2008 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Baseball Completes Sweep of Iona

Box Score

The Canisius College baseball team overcame an early 3-0 deficit and scored eight runs with two outs to complete a three-game sweep of Iona with a 12-6 victory at the Demske Sports Complex on Sunday.

Canisius (19-2, 3-0 MAAC) sweeps its opening MAAC series for second time in program history, has won eight in a row for the first time since April 9-17, 1994, has won four straight conference home series for the first time in 14 years and matches a school record for consecutive home MAAC wins with 12.

Sophomore Ian Choy led the Griffs with three hits and three RBIs in the game, with all three of his at-bats coming after he entered as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning. Kevin Reimer and Kevin Mahoney each had two hits and two RBIs while Alec Cabello also had two hits for Canisius.

“It wasn't pretty today, but we found a way to win and complete the sweep. We gave up a lot of free bases, and Iona took advantage of it,” Canisius coach Mike Mcrae said. “The production Ian Choy gave us off the bench was great. In the end, we got the victory and had a successful weekend.”

Iona (1-19, 1-5) scored two runs in the first without recording a hit off Canisius starter Josh Sawatzky. The Gaels added another in the second as Mike Goemans came in to start the inning. The Griffs cut that lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Mahoney, who came around later in the second to score on a wild pitch.

The Griffs took a 5-3 lead by scoring three runs in the third. Kevin Mailloux had an RBI single, Reimer had an RBI double and Brian Burton brought Mailloux home with a groundout.

Iona reclaimed the lead with three runs in the fifth inning. The Gaels loaded the bases with nobody out and then Mike Walraven chopped a ball halfway up the third-base line to score the first run. Goemans induced a double play, which tied the game at 5-5 and put a runner at third with two outs. Ryan McGorman came in to relieve Goemans and gave up a triple to Michael Sevilla, but Sevilla was thrown out at third by Cabello after taking a wide turn around the bag.

Canisius took the lead for good with two runs in the fifth, both coming on a pinch-hit, opposite-field single by Choy on a 1-2 pitch. The Griffs added a run in the seventh on a double by Mahoney to make it 8-6.

Canisius broke it open with four runs in the eighth. The Griffs loaded the bases with nobody out but Mailloux fouled out for the first out of the inning. Reimer walked to force home Cabello. Burton then hit into a fielder's choice with Donato getting forced out at home for the second out of the inning. A wild pitch scored Ryan Asis and advanced runners to second and third. Choy followed with a double to right center to close out the scoring.

McGorman (2-1) went 3.1 innings of scoreless relief for the win. The junior allowed four hits and struck out three. Andrew Van'tWout pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game.

Canisius is next scheduled to play Rider in a three-game conference series next weekend. The series starts with a doubleheader at the Demske Sports Complex with the first game scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Game Notes: Canisius also won four consecutive home conference series during a stretch that covered the end of the 1993 season and start of 1994 season... Canisius opened the 1994 MAAC schedule with a four-game sweep of Siena... Burton has recorded a hit in 14 of his 17 starts this season... Cabello has tallied multiple hits in three of the last four games... Choy had five RBIs on the season coming into today's game and had three hits in his previous 21 at-bats... Adam Donato, Mailloux and Mahoney extended their hitting streaks to seven games... Van't Wout has allowed one run in 8.2 innings of relief this season.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Ryan Asis: IF/OF; 5' 7"; Senior

#33 Brian Burton: 1B; 6' 1"; Freshman

#22 Alec Cabello: SS; 5' 10"; Junior

#17 Ian Choy: OF; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#11 Adam Donato: OF; 5' 9"; Senior

#19 Mike Goemans: P; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#4 Kevin Mahoney: 3B; 6' 0"; Junior

#12 Kevin Mailloux: 2B; 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior

#15 Ryan McGorman: P; 6' 1"; Junior

#28 Kevin Reimer: C; 6' 0"; Senior

#27 Josh Sawatzky: P; 6' 4"; Redshirt

#20 Andrew Van'tWout: P; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#7 Ryan Asis
: 5' 7"; Senior
: IF/OF

#33 Brian Burton
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: 1B

#22 Alec Cabello
: 5' 10"; Junior
: SS

#17 Ian Choy
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: OF

#11 Adam Donato
: 5' 9"; Senior
: OF

#19 Mike Goemans
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: P

#4 Kevin Mahoney
: 6' 0"; Junior
: 3B

#12 Kevin Mailloux
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior
: 2B

#15 Ryan McGorman
: 6' 1"; Junior
: P

#28 Kevin Reimer
: 6' 0"; Senior
: C

#27 Josh Sawatzky
: 6' 4"; Redshirt
: P

#20 Andrew Van'tWout
: 6' 1"; Junior
: P