Five Things to Know: Baseball Continues Road Swing at Charlotte

Canisius (1-3) at Charlotte (3-1)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019; Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019 (doubleheader); Monday, Feb. 25, 2019
Time: 3 p.m.; 12 p.m. (second game at 3 p.m.); 11 a.m.
Location: Hayes Stadium | Charlotte, N.C.
Live Video: CUSA.TV (paid subscription)
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Game Notes: Canisius | Charlotte

Twitter: @GriffsBaseball l #Griffs |#MAACBaseball

Five Things to Know Before Canisius Takes on Charlotte for Four Games

1) Left Side of Infield Providing Offense
• Through four games, the Blue and Gold's left side of the infield has been stepping up at the plate. Senior shortstop Conner Morro and junior third baseman Stephen Bennett both have six hits and are one-two on the team in batting average.
• Morro is leading the Griffs in both batting average (.429) and on-base percentage (.529), recording three walks, a double, a triple and a stolen base as well. Morro enters play Saturday on a 10-game hit streak that dates back to May 24, 2018 against rival Niagara in the MAAC Championship.
• Bennett has been hot to start, hitting .400 while scoring three runs and driving in two more. The junior also has the team's only home run to go along with a double and a triple, leading the team in slugging (.800).

2) Rookies Getting on Base
• The first week of collegiate play has been friendly to redshirt-freshman first baseman Mike Steffan and freshman second baseman Kyle Kush.
• Steffan, who did not see action in 2018, leads the Griffs in walks (4) and has a pair of hits, driving in one run and scoring another.
• Kush is second on the team with his .500 on-base clip, walking three times and getting plunked once.

3) Pitchers of Plenty
• The Griffs have used 15 different pitchers, allowing for vital work in preparation for future games. The mid-week game at West Virginia alone saw eight different pitchers take the mound for the Blue and Gold.
• The staff has been led by seniors Andrew Sipowicz and Nolan Hunt. The pitchers have tossed a combined 10.2 scoreless innings while fanning 11 batters. The pitching staff as a whole has also only allowed batters to hit .218 against them.
• Senior Jared Kennedy, junior Jarod Burmaster and freshman David Yankowski have all made two appearances for the Griffs.

4) Canisius-Charlotte Series History
• Charlotte is 5-1 all-time against the Griffs with all six contests taking place in Charlotte.
• Canisius last visited in 2014 when the 49ers went 2-1 on the weekend. Charlotte scored a 6-0 shutout in the opener, took game two 4-3 in 12 innings before the Blue and Gold took the getaway day win 10-1.

5) Scouting Charlotte
• The 49ers come into play this weekend holding a 3-1 record. The Niners opened the season with a three-game sweep at home over Delaware on Friday and Saturday.
• Charlotte quickly moved towards Monday, as the Niners had a matchup with No. 14 Clemson, narrowly erasing a 6-0 deficit and leaving the tying run on second in their first loss of the season, 7-6, to the Tigers.
• Rafi Vazquez is the team's early leader in batting average (.429) and RBIs (4), while being one of two 49ers batters to hit a home run (Harris Yett is the other).
• Colby Bruce, Patrick Szczypinski and Chase Gooding all currently have a 0.00 ERA over two appearances, each working two-plus innings in 2019. Matt Brooks leads the team with 6.2 innings pitched, while Will Palinkas is pacing Charlotte with seven strikeouts.

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Players Mentioned

#30 Stephen Bennett: INF; 6' 0"; Junior

#19 Nolan Hunt: LHP; 6' 0"; Senior

#34 Jared Kennedy: LHP; 6' 1"; Senior

#6 Conner Morro: INF; 5' 11"; Senior

#24 Andrew Sipowicz: RHP; 6' 3"; Senior

#7 Mike Steffan: 1B/OF; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#20 David Yankowski: P; 5' 10"; Freshman

#36 Jarod Burmaster: P; 5' 9"; Junior

#38 Kyle Kush: INF; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#30 Stephen Bennett
: 6' 0"; Junior
: INF

#19 Nolan Hunt
: 6' 0"; Senior
: LHP

#34 Jared Kennedy
: 6' 1"; Senior
: LHP

#6 Conner Morro
: 5' 11"; Senior
: INF

#24 Andrew Sipowicz
: 6' 3"; Senior
: RHP

#7 Mike Steffan
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: 1B/OF

#20 David Yankowski
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: P

#36 Jarod Burmaster
: 5' 9"; Junior
: P

#38 Kyle Kush
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: INF