For the second time in as many days, the Canisius baseball team was swept by Fairfield in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action Sunday at Alumni Diamond in Fairfield, Conn.
 
Fairfield won both games of the doubleheader, 6-3 and 8-0, improving their record to 4-0 on the year. Canisius starts the year 0-4, dropping its first four games for the first time since 2016.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
Fairfield scored six unanswered runs between the third and sixth innings to help aid the Stags to a 6-3 victory in the opening game.
 
Canisius jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a leadoff home run by Jake Burlingame. The homer was the first of two hits for Burlingame on the day.
 
Fairfield would begin their stretch of six unanswered runs with a pair of scores in the third inning. Dan Ryan scored after he was hit by a pitch and then advanced the remaining 270 feet around the bases on a pair of passed balls and a wild pitch. Ryan scored on the second passed ball of the frame. Sean Cullen would give the Stags the lead later in the inning on an RBI single.
 
Matt Venuto drove in a pair of runs for Fairfield in the Stags' half of the fourth inning, clubbing a two-run jack to make the score 4-1 in favor of the home team. In the subsequent inning, Justin Guerrera mashed his fourth round-tripper of the weekend — a solo shot — to dead center field, extending Fairfield's lead further. A hard-hit single up the middle by Mike Handal pushed Venuto across the plate to make it a 6-1 ball game in the sixth.
 
A late Canisius rally would make things interesting, as Mike Steffan hit an RBI single ricocheting off the Fairfield pitcher, enabling Kyle Kush to score. Dylan Vincent would cross home plate a short time later following a Fairfield wild pitch. The Griffs' attempt to tie the game would fall just short, as Burlingame fouled out to the third basemen with the bases loaded to end the game.
 
Jacob Victor ended the first game of the twinbill with a team-high three hits, going 3-for-4.
 
Will Frank started on the mound for the Griffs, lasting 4.1 innings, allowing five hits and five runs, walking a pair and striking out three. Levi Abbott would be the lone reliever utilized by Canisius in the opener. He struck out the first three batters he faced to open his collegiate career before giving up a hit, which brought home the lone run he allowed.
 
John Signore tossed 5.1 innings in his start for the Stags, allowing one run on six hits while walking one and fanning six. Bryson Cafaro earned the save for Fairfield.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
A combined seven RBI from Fairfield's Dan Ryan, Justin Guerrera and Sean Cullen helped propel the Stags to an 8-0 victory, solidifying their four-game sweep.
 
Jake Noviello fired six shutout innings for the victors, allowing three hits, while striking out seven and walking just one.
 
The Stags leaped out to an early 2-0 lead with a two-RBI single by Cullen in the opening frame.
 
Canisius' starter, Andrew Fron, would hold the Stags scoreless until the fifth inning, where Fairfield would tack on two additional runs. The scores would come via an RBI groundout and a solo home run.
 
Fron lasted 4.2 innings in his first start of the season, where he allowed four runs on six hits while walking three and fanning one.
 
Canisius would have a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning thwarted by Noviello. The Griffs had three batters hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases, but a flyout concluded the inning.
 
Fairfield would plate four runs in the bottom of the sixth off a pair of two-RBI hits — a double by Ryan and a single by Guerrera.
 
Vincent, Gibson Krzeminski and Kush had the hits for the Griffs in the nightcap.
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Today was a tough one. Overall, we just did not create enough offense to give us a chance. We had a chance late in game one that could have changed the game, but just didn't put the at-bats together we needed. In game two, their starter came out sharp and we never countered."
 
"[Jacob Victor] is one of our veterans that had a solid weekend. He is a guy we are going to count on this season to lead our offense for us to have success."
 
"I felt our bullpen did a good job again for the most part. We have been humbled and we need to be a team that lets this soak in and understands nothing is given and everything we get this year needs to be earned. We put in the work Monday thru Friday and we need to execute moving forward."
 
GAME NOTES
• Sunday was the 70th and 71st meetings between the two Jesuit schools. Fairfield now leads the series, 39-32, and has won six of the previous seven contests, including the last five.
• Burlingame's homer in the first game was his first since going yard against UMass Lowell on Feb. 16, 2020. His two-hit game in the opener was his 21st game in his Canisius career with multiple base knocks.
• With his three hits in the opening game, Victor recorded multiple hits in three straight games to open the season. He has 19 multi-hit games with the Blue & Gold in his career.
• Abbott and Duffy each made their collegiate debuts on Sunday, striking out the first batters they faced.
• Max Grant made his first collegiate start in the latter game of the twin-bill, starting at second base for the Blue and Gold.
• Burmaster's 2.1-inning outing was his longest appearance since logging 3.0 innings of work on April 28, 2019, also at Fairfield.
• Canisius was shutout for the first time since May 25, 2019, when the Griffs were eliminated from the 2019 MAAC Tournament, also by Fairfield, 5-0.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will remain on the road next weekend when they will face Iona, led by former Griff, Paul Panik, in New Rochelle, N.Y., next Saturday and Sunday. The first pitches of both doubleheaders are currently scheduled for noon.
 
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