Five Things to Know: Title Defense Begins for Baseball at MAAC Championship

TBD vs. Canisius (24-27, 17-7 MAAC)
Date: Wednesday, May 22
Time: 7 p.m.
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Live Video: ESPN+

* Information For Later Games Will Be Announced When Available

Location: Richmond County Bank Ballpark | Staten Island, N.Y.

Twitter: @GriffsBaseball l #Griffs |#MAACBaseball

Five Things to Know before Canisius opens the 2019 MAAC Championship on Wednesday night:

1) Back-to-Back?
• The Golden Griffins enter the conference's postseason tournament as the No. 1 seed after winning the 2019 MAAC regular-season championship (shared with Quinnipiac) and are looking to repeat after winning the 2018 MAAC Championship.
• The Griffs are seeking to become the first team to win MAAC Championship in consecutive years since Manhattan accomplished the feat in 2011-12.
• Canisius came close to being back-to-back MAAC champions in 2014 after winning their first title in 2013, but were beat twice by Siena on championship Saturday.
• The regular-season title is the team's first since 2014 and fifth overall.

2) Top of the Order Lighting Up MAAC Play
• The top three hitters in the Blue and Gold's order have all produced when facing conference opponents, as seniors Mark McKenna and Conner Morro are living up to their All-MAAC Preseason Team selections while junior Jacob Victor has emerged as a serious threat at the plate for MAAC pitchers.
• In league play, McKenna ranks eighth with a .366 batting average and 10th with a .451 on-base percentage, also sitting fourth with seven hit-by-pitches. The outfielder has also been perfect on the base-paths, going six-for-six in steal attempts.
• Morro has hit .309 against MAAC opponents, while getting on base at a .429 clip, thanks in part to 16 walks that ranks 10th in conference action. He has also found a power stroke, launching three of his five homers in league games, and has added on seven steals to show off his speed.
• Primarily batting third, Victor has mashed to a .330 average against conference foes, producing 24 runs scored and 25 RBI which rank sixth and third in the MAAC, respectively. Victor has also homered four times in league play, ranking eighth in the MAAC, and has a conference-leading four sacrifice flies.

3) The Andrews and a Nolan
• Canisius' top four starters have all found their groove over the past two months, as seniors Andrew Sipowicz, Nolan Hunt and Andrew Kneussle and freshman Andrew Fron are the four leaders in innings pitched, starts and wins.
• Sipowicz paces the team with 81 innings pitched (7th in the MAAC) and 66 strikeouts, and sits 37th in the country with 1.56 walked allowed per nine innings. Hunt ranks third in the MAAC with a 2.95 ERA and eighth with a .254 opposing batting average, with Sipowicz following in tenth for both categories (4.00 ERA, .259 OPP. BA)
• Fron has settled into the rotation, putting together six-straight starts of five-plus innings from March 19 through May 5, picking up four wins in that span.
• Kneussle, on the other hand, has limited opponents to five hits and one run in his last four appearances and 12.1 innings, throwing five shutout innings of relief at Notre Dame and allowing the one run in his 5.1 relief innings at Niagara in the regular season finale.

4) Returning to Staten Island
• Last year's MAAC Championship saw several current Griffs turn it up en route to four-straight wins at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
•Morro racked up two hits in each of the four contests, scoring six runs in total and swiping two bases in the MAAC title game against Monmouth.
• McKenna notched multi-hit games in all four games, putting up 11 hits and seven RBI over 17 at-bats. He also knocked in a three RBI versus Quinnipiac on four hits, scoring twice as well.
• Kneussle threw 6.1 innings in the first game against Monmouth, allowing three earned runs on five hits while fanning two batters.
• Junior Will Frank threw six scoreless innings over two appearances last year, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out four.

5) Scouting the Competition
• Of the five other teams in Staten Island, the Griffs took two-of-three from every team but Monmouth. The Griffs are also the only team in the tournament to face all other five teams.
• Co-regular season champion Quinnipiac enters with a 26-27 record overall (17-7 MAAC), and is coming of a three-game sweep of Manhattan. Powering through their lineup, Liam Scafariello (12 homers), Andre Marrero (10 homers) and Evan Vulgamore (eight homers) sit third, fifth and eight in the MAAC, respectively
• Fairfield finished the regular season at 15-9 in the league a league-best 31-23 overall mark, playing UMBC in two non-conference games this past weekend. Jack Gethings leads the conference in both batting average (.373) and triples (seven).
• Marist took two-of-three from Siena to end the regular season at 27-24 (15-9 MAAC). Frankie Gregoire leads the conference with 14 home runs and 56 RBI, while Anthony Lazar paces the MAAC with 51 runs scored and Tyler Kapuscinski leads with a .455 on-base percentage.
• Despite the sweep to Quinnipiac, Manhattan enters Wednesday at 24-31 overall and 15-9 in league action. John Cain leads the conference with eight wins, while Nick Cimillo is the top rookie with a .345 batting average.
• Monmouth clinched a spot in the tournament with two wins over Rider, holding a 26-27-1 record and a 13-11 mark in the MAAC. J.P. Walsh has a league-high 21 stolen bases, while Rob Hensey has a league-low 47 hits allowed among qualified pitchers.

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Players Mentioned

#26 Will Frank: RHP; 6' 0"; Junior

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

#27 Andrew Kneussle: RHP; 6' 1"; Senior

#25 Mark McKenna: OF; 5' 10"; Senior

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

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

#15 Jacob Victor: OF; 6' 1"; Junior

#32 Andrew Fron: P; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#26 Will Frank
: 6' 0"; Junior
: RHP

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

#27 Andrew Kneussle
: 6' 1"; Senior
: RHP

#25 Mark McKenna
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OF

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

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

#15 Jacob Victor
: 6' 1"; Junior
: OF

#32 Andrew Fron
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: P