Iona
College defeated the Canisius College baseball team 6-2 at the Demske Sports
Complex on Friday afternoon. The Golden Griffins fall to 24-24 overall and 9-7
in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Canisius
got on the board in the bottom of the first as freshman Mike Krische led off with a double down the right-field line.
Krische moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI groundout from
sophomore Shane Zimmer.
The
Gaels didn't record their first hit until the fifth inning, when four straight
Iona players reaching base. After a walk to Eric Capowski, single from Joe
Smith and walk to Joe Torres loaded the bases, Jimmy Guliano forced home a run
on the third walk of the inning. Canisius starter Garrett Cortright then got Chris Burke and Mike Chiaravalloti to
pop out with the bases loaded to end the inning and keep the score tied at 1-1.
Iona
took a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from Matt Kriss and an
RBI groundout from Capowski. The Griffs got one of those runs back in the
bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Jimmy
Luppens doubled to left-center with one out and eventually scored on a two-out triple to left-center from sophomore Jesse
Kelso.
The
Gaels came right back and scored three in the top of the seventh, taking
advantage of a leadoff walk to build a 6-2 lead. Iona received an RBI double
from Burke and RBI singles from James Beck and Colin Lyall to go up by four
runs.
The
Griffs had a chance in the ninth as walks to pinch hitters Connor Panas and Jesse
Puscheck to go along with Krische beating out an infield single loaded the
bases. Derrick Bligh then got sophomore Jose
Torralba to ground out to second to end the game as the Griffs went
2-for-18 on the day with runners on base.
Cortright
(5-6) took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits, walking five, hitting
two batters and striking out three in six innings. Eddie Macaluso (4-5) earned
the win by allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits in six innings. Bligh
threw three scoreless innings to record the save.
Canisius and Iona conclude the series on Saturday, with a doubleheader at the Demske Sports Complex. First pitch is set for noon.
Notes: Canisius
lost the first game of a conference series for the second time in six MAAC
series this season... The win by the Gaels ended a six-game winning streak by the
Griffs in the series... Krische batted in the leadoff spot of the order for the
first time since Feb. 18, against Marshall and had a career-high four hits...
Luppens extended his hitting streak to seven games... Cortright went six innings
for the seventh time in his last eight starts... Kelso's triple was his fifth of
the season and the sophomore is now tied for the second most in a season in
program history. Branson Joseph holds the single-season record with seven (2009)...
Panas has seven walks in his last 21 plate appearances... Freshman Rohn Pierce allowed two runs in 2.2
innings of relief, his first runs allowed in his last eight relief appearances.
