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Canisius University Athletics

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Jacob Victor
Marshal Filipowicz
5
Canisius CAN 21-21
6
Winner Niagara University NIA 11-27
Canisius CAN
21-21
5
Final
6
Niagara University NIA
11-27
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Canisius CAN 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 2
Niagara University NIA 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 8 1

W: Zapata-Baez, Yohn (1-0) L: Frank, Will (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Niagara’s Ninth-Inning Rally Defeats Baseball

RECAP
The Canisius baseball team suffered a 6-5 walk-off loss to longtime rival Niagara on Tuesday afternoon at Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
 
The defeat dropped the Golden Griffins to 21-21 overall while the Purple Eagles improved to 11-27 in 2019.
 
Leading the Griffs were senior Conner Morro's two-hit performance and junior Jacob Victor's two RBI on one hit and one walk. Niagara's Benny Serrano led the Purple Eagles' offense with two hits and three RBI, and Josh Marchese added on two hits and two RBI as well.
 
Canisius grabbed three runs in the first when the first two batters of the game both reached. Victor then singled home both runners and sophomore Jacob Martins drove in Victor with a base knock.
 
Niagara evened the score in the bottom of the inning, as Marchese plated two runs and a Canisius error on a fielder's choice allowed Max Giordano to score the equalizer.
 
After a second-inning single and a passed ball got junior Noah Thompson to third, freshman Kyle Kush brought him home on a groundout.
 
Canisius added another run in the fourth when freshman Trevor Henneman drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in Thompson.
 
The Purple Eagles cut the lead in the seventh, as Serrano grounded into a fielder's choice that brought Darian Blanks in to make it 5-4.
 
Niagara completed the comeback in the ninth when Blanks walked and Dawson Bailey doubled, setting up Serrano to deliver the walk-off hit, a single to left field that scored both runners.
 
Jacob Bruning started for the Purple Eagles, being saddled with all five Canisius runs (four earned) over 3.2 innings. Kyle Smyth followed with one walk and one strikeout in 0.1 innings pitched, Jordan Parranto allowed a hit in his one inning and Alex MacKinnon tossed two frames of one-hit ball. Yohn Zapata-Baez got the win by throwing two perfect innings in relief.
 
Freshman Brett Kochanski opened the game for the Griffs, surrendering three runs on two hits across three innings. Sophomore Jeff DeStefano and seniors Andrew Kneussle and Jared Kennedy combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief after Kochanski exited. Freshman David Yankowski gave up one run in his single inning of work, while sophomore Zach Chivers pitched a scoreless eighth inning and junior Will Frank suffered the loss after allowing the game-winning, two-run hit.
 
HEAD COACH MATT MAZUREK'S POSTGAME COMMENTS
"In the late innings, we didn't fight at the plate and we didn't compete. Up until the last inning, the bullpen came in and did what they needed to do. We could have done a better job in the seventh inning controlling the run game, but the bullpen, for the most part, was what they should have been.
 
"It's important to get everybody some work in, and we do that in the mid-weeks now since we have limited opportunities with mid-week games to get guys chances to see what they can do because there will be spots on the weekends where we need a guy to fill in. This is an opportunity to see who that guy is going to be and they know that this is their opportunity to show that."
 
GAME NOTES
• Tuesday was the 174th all-time meeting between the two Western New York schools, with Canisius now holding a 94-80 edge.
• Kochanski's three-inning start matches his career-long appearance from March 20 at Kansas State.
• Kennedy and Chivers both have not allowed multiple hits in their last five appearances.
• Tuesday was only the seventh game in 2019 where the Griffs have not produced an extra-base hit. It was also only the second game that Canisius' pitching staff has registered less than three strikeouts.
• This was Victor's 10th multi-RBI performance and Morro's 10th multi-hit game.
 
UP NEXT
The Blue and Gold close out their home schedule with a three-game series against Monmouth May 4-5. Saturday's game will begin at 5 p.m., while the Sunday doubleheader is set for a noon first pitch. Senior Day festivities will take place before the start of Sunday's twin-bill.
 
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