ALBANY, N.Y. -- Pounding out 21 hits and 19 runs in game one to go along with solid pitching and defense in game two, the Canisius College baseball team swept a doubleheader at Siena on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Griffins won the first game 19-13 and took the second game 3-1.
Canisius improves to 27-19 and 10-7 in the MAAC as the Griffs sweep the Saturday doubleheader in a MAAC series for the second time this season. Canisius has now won 12 of 15.
Senior Kevin Mailloux led the team with six hits on the day to go along with four RBI. Senior Kevin Mahoney also had four RBI to go along with three hits while Connor Burke and Ian Choy each added three RBI.
In game two, the Griffs tied the game when Brad Medici was hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single from Choy and then scored on an RBI single from Mailloux.
The Griffs scored twice in the fourth when Branson Joseph led off with an inside-the-park home run. Burke was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a groundout, stole third and scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1.
Senior Alex MacKenzie went the distance in the second game. The senior yielded seven hits and allowed just one first-inning run as he walked zero and struck out two to even his record at 3-3 on the season.
In the first game, Canisius jumped out to a big lead, going up 12-1 after four innings. Mahoney got Canisius on the board with an RBI double in the first. The Griffs scored six in the second inning ? a two-RBI single from Steve McQuail, three-run homer from Choy and solo homer from Mailloux. After Siena scored a run in the third, Canisius added five runs in the fourth. Burke and Perry Silverman each had a two-RBI single while McQuail added an RBI single.
An RBI single from Burke made it 13-1 in the top of the fifth before Siena added three in the bottom of the inning. McQuail and Mailloux added RBI hits to push the Canisius lead to 15-4 after six innings.
Siena (12-34, 6-14 MAAC) then made its charge, getting four runs in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the Canisius lead to 15-8. Canisius added four runs in the top of the eighth, which turned out to be insurance runs. Mailloux had an RBI single and Mahoney hit a two-run homer to right while Joseph would triple and score on a Siena error. Siena scored five more runs in the bottom of the eighth to chase Canisius starter Shane Davis. Sophomore Josh Marshall came into the game and retired five straight to close out the win.
Canisius and Siena conclude the three-game series on Sunday, with a single, nine-inning game. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
Game Notes: Prior to Saturday, Canisius was 1-6 in the last seven meetings against Siena... Mailloux now has 16 hits in the last seven games and has 21 multi-hit games on the season... Burke had a career-high three steals in the second game... Canisius scored 18 or more runs in a MAAC game for the fourth time this season... Davis won his fifth straight start and is now 19-3 in his career... MacKenzie allowed one earned run in a start for the third time this season... Mahoney's home run gives him 17 on the season, setting a single-season MAAC record.
