Baseball Drops Season Opener to Gardner-Webb

The Canisius College baseball team dropped its season opener 14-9 to Gardner-Webb on Friday afternoon in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Senior Branson Joseph led the Golden Griffins with two hits from the leadoff spot while second baseman Kevin Mailloux had two runs scored. Mailloux and Perry Silverman each had two RBIs while Shayne Willson hit a home run in his first game in a Canisius uniform.

“We got beat in every facet of the game today. We did not have a good approach at the plate. We did not get ahead of their hitters, nor did we make good pitches when we needed them. Our inability to turn two inning-ending double plays led to four runs,” Canisius coach Mike McRae said. “Clearly, we were not ready to start the season today and that responsibility falls on my shoulders. We need to make some adjustments in order to have a better day on Saturday.”

Gardner-Webb got on the board with an unearned run in the first before Willson evened the score with a solo home run in the second. Gardner-Webb added single runs in the second and third before Canisius made the score 3-2 on an RBI single from Brian Burton in the fourth.

Gardner-Webb scored 11 unanswered runs from the fourth to seventh innings, getting three in the fourth, one in the fifth and sixth and six in the seventh. After Brock Miller scored on a fielder's choice in the fourth Bubbie Spake hit a two-run homer to left center to make it 6-2.

With the score 8-2 entering the seventh, Gardner-Webb used five consecutive hits to start the inning ? all singles ? to push the lead to 11-2. Doubles from Matt Rizzuto and Kurt Fulignit plated three runs to make it 14-2.

Canisius scored seven runs in the ninth, all of them unearned. In the inning, Silverman had a two-RBI single while Mailloux also had a two-RBI single. Connor Burke, Brian Gibbs and Kevin Mahoney each brought in runs for the Griffs in the ninth.

Mike Goemans (0-1) took the loss for the Griffs, going four innings and allowed six hits, six runs, five earned and four walks. Matt Weber threw 2.2 innings of relief, allowing eight runs, while Aaron Boag threw a scoreless 1.1 innings.

Brett Stackhouse (1-0) picked up the win for Gardner-Webb, allowing three hits, two runs, one earned, one walk and striking out four in five innings. Ryan Maxa pitched effectively out of the pen allowing just one baserunner in three scoreless innings of relief.

Canisius and Gardner-Webb continue their four-game series on Saturday, with a doubleheader that is set to start at 12 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#36 Aaron Boag: P; 5' 11"; Senior

#5 Connor Burke: 1B/OF; 6' 0"; Senior

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

#25 Brian Gibbs: 1B; 6' 1"; Senior

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

#2 Branson Joseph: OF; 6' 0"; Senior

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

#12 Kevin Mailloux: 2B; 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior

#24 Perry Silverman: OF; 5' 10"; Junior

#18 Matt Weber: P; 6' 1"; Senior

#9 Shayne Willson: OF; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#36 Aaron Boag
: 5' 11"; Senior
: P

#5 Connor Burke
: 6' 0"; Senior
: 1B/OF

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

#25 Brian Gibbs
: 6' 1"; Senior
: 1B

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

#2 Branson Joseph
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OF

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

#12 Kevin Mailloux
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior
: 2B

#24 Perry Silverman
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OF

#18 Matt Weber
: 6' 1"; Senior
: P

#9 Shayne Willson
: 6' 2"; Junior
: OF