Baseball 2/14/2015 9:14:00 PM Canisius College Athletics

Baseball Falls to No. 20 Maryland in Season Opener

Box Score The No. 20-ranked Maryland Terrapins scored five times in the bottom of the second inning and then added three insurance runs in the home-half of the seventh to hold off the Canisius College baseball team by the score of 8-4 Saturday afternoon at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Conway, S.C. With the win, Maryland improves to 2-0 on the year, while the Golden Griffins (0-1) see their five-year stretch of winning the season-opener come to an end with the loss.

Maryland scored five times in the second, with the key hit in the frame coming off the bat of designated hitter Nick Cieri. With the bases loaded and one out, Cieri ripped a double to the gap in left-centerfield that plated three runs to make the score 4-0 in favor of Maryland, and Cieri would later score the innings' fifth run on a wild pitch.

From there, Canisius battled back and ended up cutting Maryland's lead to 5-4. Canisius scored twice in the fourth inning on RBI-singles from senior Jesse Puscheck and junior Brett Siddall, and the Griffs made the game a two-run affair in the fifth when junior Anthony Massicci was credited with a sacrifice-fly to left that allowed freshman Ryan Stekl to score from third base. In the sixth, Canisius senior Connor Panas smashed his eighth career homer over the fence in right-center to make the score 5-4, but the Terrapins answered with three runs in the seventh, with Cieri hitting a two-run homer off in the frame.

Canisius starter Brandon Bielecki took the loss after he went 1.1 innings and allowed five runs on three hits while walking three and striking out one. Freshman J.P. Stevenson came on in relief and and tossed 3.2 innings, where he did not allow a hit and fanned two. Maryland releiver Bobby Ruse threw five innings for the Terrapins, where he allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven.

For Canisius, which racked up 11 hits in the loss, Massicci, Stekl, sophomore Jake Lumley and freshman Jack Massa all had two hits, with Massicci also scoring a run and driving in a run. Freshman Adam Tricarico earned a walk and scored a run as well for the Blue and Gold in the losing effort. Cieri had a homer, a double and five RBI for Maryland, which was picked to win the Big 10 Conference title this season in the league's preseason coaches poll and in six different preseason publications.

Because of weather concerns, the schedule for the rest of the Caravelle Resort Tournament has been changed. Canisius will play just one game on Sunday, when the team meets Old Dominion at 2 p.m., in Conway, S.C. The Griffs are now scheduled to play host Coastal Carolina on Monday at noon, and the two teams will play against on Tuesday, Feb. 17, with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m.

Game Notes: This was the fouth all-time meeting between Canisius and Maryland in baseball, with the Terrapins holding a 3-1 lead in the series... Canisius opened its season against a member school of the Big 10 for the third time in program history and for the first time since playing Ohio State in 1994... Panas has now reached base safely in 19-straight games, dating back to last season... Massicci led off for Canisius for the 26th time in the last two years and opened the season with a base hit... The start for Bielecki was the first in his career... The appearance in relief by Canisius redshirt-junior Mike Elwood was his first in a Griff uniform.

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Players Mentioned

#26 Brandon Bielecki: P; 6' 0"; Senior

#27 Connor Panas: 3B/1B; 6' 0"; Senior

#25 Jesse Puscheck: 3B; 6' 2"; Senior

#24 Brett Siddall: 1B/OF; 6' 2"; Junior

#9 Mike Elwood: P; 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

#3 Jake Lumley: IF; 6' 0"; Junior

#39 Jack Massa: C; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#7 Anthony Massicci: IF; 5' 10"; Senior

#15 Ryan Stekl: 1B/3B; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#32 J.P. Stevenson: P; 6' 3"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#26 Brandon Bielecki
: 6' 0"; Senior
: P

#27 Connor Panas
: 6' 0"; Senior
: 3B/1B

#25 Jesse Puscheck
: 6' 2"; Senior
: 3B

#24 Brett Siddall
: 6' 2"; Junior
: 1B/OF

#9 Mike Elwood
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior
: P

#3 Jake Lumley
: 6' 0"; Junior
: IF

#39 Jack Massa
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: C

#7 Anthony Massicci
: 5' 10"; Senior
: IF

#15 Ryan Stekl
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: 1B/3B

#32 J.P. Stevenson
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: P