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Christ Conley is shown swinging during game action versus Minnesota in the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Minneapolis Regional
Eric Miller
1
Canisius CAN 35-21
10
Winner Minnesota MINN 44-11
Canisius CAN
35-21
1
Final
10
Minnesota MINN
44-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Canisius CAN 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 1
Minnesota MINN 0 5 1 1 3 0 0 0 X 10 14 0

W: Meyer, R. (8-3) L: Stevenson, J.P. (10-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Falls to No. 14 Minnesota in Regional Opener

GAME RECAP
No. 14 Minnesota exploded for 14 hits as it cruised to a 10-1 victory over Canisius in opening round action in the Minneapolis Regional of the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Friday at Siebert Field.
 
Terrin Vavra went 3-for-5 with three RBI to pace the host Golden Gophers (44-11), who advanced to face regional two seed UCLA in the winner's bracket Saturday. Toby Hanson finished with three hits, including two doubles, and two runs scored while Jordan Kozicky tallied two singles as every Minnesota starter recorded a base hit in the contest.
 
Senior Christ Conley was 1-for-4 with a RBI double for the Golden Griffins (35-21), who will face regional three seed Gonzaga in an elimination contest Saturday at 2 p.m. EST. Senior John Conti tallied two hits while three players – Seniors Ryan Stekl and Gage Lanning and junior Conner Morro - notched one hit each.
 
Minnesota took control of the contest in the second inning, plating five runs on five hits and one error to build a 5-0 cushion. After a wild pitch allowed Micah Coffey to score the game's opening run, a double by Toby Hanson and a RBI groundout by Luke Peterson stretched the Gophers lead to 3-0. A single from Ben Mezzenga and a triple by Terrin Vavra brought the home the final two runs of the frame.
 
Canisius countered in the top of the third when Conley roped a double to center field that scored Conti to trim the Minnesota advantage to 5-1.
 
The Gophers responded in the bottom half of the third with a solo home run off the bat of Cole McDevitt to make it 6-1 before a two-out RBI double by Coffey in the fourth increased the margin to 7-1.
 
Minnesota closed out the scoring in the fifth on RBI singles from Kozicky and Vavra that brought home three runs to make it 10-1.  
 
That would be all the support that Minnesota starter Reggie Meyer would need as he allowed one run on just five hits in eight innings of work to earn his eighth win of the season.
 
Senior J.P. Stevenson got the start for Canisius and lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing seven runs (three earned) on nine hits and one error as the 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year picked up just his second loss of the campaign (10-2).   
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Today was a tough game. We took it on the chin. We have not been in that position in quite a while. Now it's about bouncing back and coming out tomorrow as we still have an opportunity to make history for our program and our school by getting a win in a regional. That's where our attention is turned to."
 
Game Notes
• Friday's contest marked the beginning of Canisius' third appearance in the NCAA Tournament. All three appearances have come since 2013 (2013, 2015 & 2018).
• The contest was the first meeting on the diamond between Canisius and Minnesota.
• Friday's game was the Griffs second against a nationally-ranked opponent this season. Canisius defeated then-No. 25 NC State, 3-2, back on March 4 in Raleigh.
• The loss snapped Canisius' eight-game winning streak, the program's longest since a nine-game unbeaten stretch during the 2016 campaign.
• Senior J.P. Stevenson became the fourth pitcher in school history to record more than 300 innings pitched with his 3.1 innings of work on Friday. He is the first Canisius pitcher to reach the milestone since Devon Stewart did so during the 2015 campaign.
• With his single in the first inning, senior Ryan Stekl moved three base hits away from matching Jake Lumley for first place on the program's career hits chart (259).
• The official attendance of 2,291 established a Siebert Field record.
 
Up Next
• Canisius will face regional third seed Gonzaga in an elimination game Saturday at 2 p.m. EST
• The game will be shown live on the WatchESPN App. 
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