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Canisius University Athletics

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Jeff DeStefano pitching vs. Niagara at Sal Maglie Stadium on April 30, 2019
Marshal Filipowicz
7
Canisius CAN 0-1
12
Winner UMass Lowell UML 1-0
Canisius CAN
0-1
7
Final
12
UMass Lowell UML
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 4 1 0 2 0 0 7 9 2
UMass Lowell UML 1 3 0 1 2 2 0 3 X 12 11 3

W: THOMPSON (1-0) L: DeStefano, Jeff (0-1) S: BECKER (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Loses High-Scoring Affair to UMass Lowell on Opening Day

Recap
Despite senior Andy Leader recording three-quarters of the cycle, the Canisius baseball team dropped its season opener to UMass Lowell, 12-7, on Friday afternoon at Ting Park in Holly Springs, N.C.
 
With the loss, the Golden Griffins fell to 0-1 while the River Hawks ended Opening Day with a 1-0 record.
 
Leader was the lynchpin for the Griffs, setting career highs with three hits and five RBI, also scoring once himself over five at-bats in a contest that saw the outfielder fall a home run shy of the cycle. Junior Jacob Martins and sophomore Kyle Kush also collected multi-hit games, as Martins tallied a double and two runs scored. For UMass Lowell, Robert Gallagher and Gerry Siracusa both registered three hits on the day, with Gallagher also swiping three bases and Siracusa notching a pair of stolen bases, while Jiovel Lantigua drove in three of his team's 12 runs.
 
UMass Lowell struck in first, as Ciaran Devenney singled home Keagan Calero in the bottom half of the inning after Calero got to third via a walk, stolen base and wild pitch. The River Hawks added three more in the second after Jonny Gilbride scored on a Canisius error and Lantigua plated two runs on a single to the right-center gap.
 
A two-out rally in the fourth allowed the Blue and Gold to even the score with four unearned runs, as a Jake Burlingame steal forced a UMass Lowell error that allowed fellow senior Stephen Bennett to score Canisius first run. Later in the inning, Leader legged out a two-run triple and sophomore Trevor Henneman drove in Leader with a double to center field.
 
The River Hawks did not keep the game tied for long, as the home half of the fourth saw Lantigua drive in his third run of the game with a groundout.
 
Leader struck again in the fifth, plating fellow senior Jacob Victor with a single to bring the score even again at 5-5. The bottom of the fifth saw Gallagher smack a two-run single down the right-field line, giving UMass Lowell the lead again at 7-5.
 
The River Hawks added two insurance runs in the sixth inning thanks to a wild pitch and a Siracusa single, but Leader pulled the Griffs closer once again in top half of the seventh when the senior laced a two-run double to cut the lead to 9-7.
 
UMass Lowell was not done offensively, adding three more runs in the eighth frame to extend its lead to 12-7. Canisius did threaten in the ninth by having its first two batters reach base safely, but Josh Becker closed out the victory for the River Hawks.
 
Becker picked up the save, striking out six over two scoreless innings, and teammate Trevor Thompson earned his first win as a River Hawk by also pitching two scoreless frames and fanning one Griff. Canisius junior Jeff DeStefano was handed the loss, being on the hook for five runs across three innings. Neither starter factored into the decision, as Canisius senior Will Frank allowed four runs in two innings and UMass Lowell's Henry Funaro gave up five runs (one earned) over 4-plus innings of work.
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Looking at the takeaways from Opening Day: In order to put ourselves in a position to win we need to limit the free opportunities we give to the other team and take advantage of the ones given to us. Today we struggled there. Today was a great opportunity to see the things we have talked about and practiced through now put into game speed. The next step is to understand that we need to trust in our preparation and execute better to end up on the other side of the win column.
 
Individually, Leader came out and had a great day for us. He has had a great fall and spring of preparation and the signs of success are no coincidence based on Andy's work ethic."
 
Game Notes
• This was the first all-time meeting between the two schools.
• The Griffs have now lost three-straight season openers, with Canisius' last Opening Day win coming in 2017 at Gardner-Webb.
• For the second-straight season, Leader has recorded three-or-more RBI in his season debut, having recorded three RBI in the Canisius win at N.C. Central on Feb. 16, 2019.
• Friday's start for Frank marked the first time the righty has gotten the starting nod in his collegiate career, previously being a reliever in each of his first 58 appearances with Canisius.
• The start at designated hitter marked redshirt junior Gibson Krzeminski's debut for the Griffs. • The pinch-hit appearance by Canice Ejoh in the ninth inning was the first time the redshirt senior has played since June 2, 2018, as the outfielder sat out the entire 2019 season due to injury.
 
Up Next
Canisius and UMass Lowell continue the opening weekend series at Ting Park with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch for game one is slated for noon, with the second game beginning at approximately 3 p.m.
 
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