The Canisius College baseball team used a five-run seventh inning rally to secure a 7-5 victory over crosstown rival Buffalo at Amherst Audubon Field on Wednesday afternoon. Freshman Ryan Stekl used a bases-clearing double to break the game wide open to help the Griffs to victory. With the win Canisius improves to 17-20 overall while Buffalo drops to 10-19.

The seventh inning proved to be a key frame for the Griffs as the squad entered the top half, trailing 3-2. Anthony Massicci gave Canisius its first lead of the of the game as he drove in Jake Lumley and Jack Massa on a single to center field, and Stekl dealt the biggest blow with a double to right center, which drove in three RBI and ended the inning with Canisius up 7-3.

Aaron Casper got the start for the Griffs as he went 2.0 innings and allowed two hits and one earned run, along with one strikeout. Canisius went with a pitching staff by committee as Zachary Sloan worked 2.2 innings and gave up three hits, two earned runs and fanned two. Brandon Bielecki earned the win as he pitched two innings and allowed two hits and two earned runs, but stuck out six , as he improved to 2-2 on the year. Eric Stolzenburg and Tyler Smith combined for 0.1 innings of work, while Iannick Remillard came on the final two innings, and yielded just one hit, and struck out one as he earned his seventh save of the year.

For Buffalo Brandon Bentley got the start and worked 6.2 innings, allowed four hits and six runs with just one earned as he took the loss. Mitchell Machi and Mike Kaelin worked the final innings and yielded just two hits and one earned run between them.

Stekl's big day proved to be the offensive catalyst for the Blue and Gold and he went 2-for-4 on the day with four RBI. Massicci's pair of RBI was next on the list as he went 1-for-4.

Brian Dudek had three RBI for the Buffalo, while Nick Sinay had one. Three Bulls had two hits apiece as Sinay, Dudek and Don Kilian all posted a pair of hits.

Buffalo got on the board in the bottom of the first as Sinay led off with a single up the middle. Following a stolen base by Sinay, Dudek drove him in with a single to right field to make it 1-0.

Canisius evened up the score in the fifth with a fielder's choice RBI by Cyrus Senior made it 1-1.

That tie didn't last long as Dudek struck again in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of RBI off a single to center field.

The Griffs got one back in the top of the sixth, as Stekl drove in his first RBI of the game on a single to right field which brought Lumley around to score, which made it 3-2.

Following the Griffs' five run seventh, Buffalo did attempt the comeback in the bottom of the seventh as Sinay drove in an RBI and Mike Abrunzo singled to left field to start the carousel. Sinay scored, but as Dudek round third on his way home, Connor Panas threw a dart to the plate and allowed Massa to tag out Dudek for the final out of the frame.

Remillard came on and recorded the final six outs for the win.

Canisius now takes to the road once again as the squad heads to Fairfax Va., for a three game set against George Mason. That series starts on Friday, and continues with a game on Saturday and one game on Sunday.

GAME NOTES: The season series between these two teams is now 2-1 in favor the Griffs, and a fourth game is scheduled for Tuesday of next week … Remillard's save gives him seven this season and he is now just four away from tying the all-time single season record of 11 set by Jon Fitzsimmons in 2012 … Stekl has now recorded at least one hit in 10 of the last 11 contests this season … Stekl also has a three-game RBI streak going as he has tallied at least one RBI in the last three games (six total) … With his hit today, Lumley extended his hitting streak to five.