FISHKILL, N.Y. – Eight strong innings from sophomore starter Josh Shepley and four RBI from senior Connor Panas helped lead the way for the Canisius baseball team on Friday night, as the Golden Griffins defeated Quinnipiac 12-2 in the elimination bracket final of the 2015 MAAC Baseball Championship at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y. With the win, the Griffs (32-28) advance to the MAAC's championship round where the team will meet No. 4 seed Siena. Canisius will need to beat the Saints twice on Saturday to earn the MAAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Baseball Championship. First pitch is set for noon.

Canisius jumped on Quinnipiac (29-27) with four runs through the game's first two frames, highlighted by an RBI-single by Panas with one down in the second inning that drove in a pair of runs. Quinnipiac answered with a single tally in the third to make the score 4-1, but the Blue and Gold pushed its cushion to six runs at 7-1 after the Griffs plated three in the home-half of the fourth.

In the fourth, junior Brett Siddall roped an RBI-double that allowed Panas to score, and then senior Jesse Puscheck pushed Siddall across the plate with an RBI-single through the left side. Freshman Jack Massa ended the scoring in the fourth with a base hit down the right field line that allowed Puscheck to score from second.

Canisius added five runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 12-1, which proved to be more than enough support for Shepley, who improved to 3-2 on the year after he allowed one run on five hits to go with four strikeouts in eight innings of work. Quinnipiac starter Justin Thomas took the loss after he allowed seven runs on eight hits while walking three in 3.2 innings of work.

"I can't say enough about Josh Shepley's effort tonight," Canisius head coach Mike McRae said. "He went out there and competed his butt off and stepped up when we needed it. We need to take it one inning at a time, one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time. We need to do whatever it takes to see how long we can stick around."

Massa had two hits and an RBI in the victory, while freshman Cyrus Senior had a base hit, scored a run and knocked in a run as well. For Quinnipiac, Vincent Guglietti had two hits in the loss, including a solo homer in the ninth.

Game Notes:This was the third time Canisius and Quinnipiac played in the MAAC Baseball Championship, and Canisius is 2-1 in those meetings... In those two wins, Canisius has outscored the Bobcats by a 22-2 count... This will mark the third-straight season where Canisius and Siena have met for the MAAC Baseball Championship. In 2013, Canisius won the MAAC crown, while the Saints earned the league's title in 2014... This will mark the sixth time Canisius has earned a berth to the MAAC Baseball Championship final round since 2009... Canisius is 10-6 all-time in elimination games under McRae... Shepley's eight-inning effort marks the longest of his career... Panas is the teams active leader in career MAAC Tournament hits with 24.