Pitching helped both Canisius and Monmouth split their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference twin bill Sunday from MU Baseball Field in West Long Branch, N.J.

Monmouth (23-10, 23-10 MAAC) limited Canisius (17-13, 17-13 MAAC) to just four hits in the opening game as the Hawks came away with a 7-4 victory, despite a seventh-inning rally by the Griffs.

In the nightcap, the Griffs limited Monmouth to just five hits, winning the rubber match, 7-1, to avoid the four-game series sweep.

GAME ONE RECAP
A seventh-inning rally by Canisius came up short as the Griffs dropped the first game of Sunday's doubleheader against Monmouth, 7-4.

The Griffs trailed, 7-1, heading into their final at-bat. Gibson Krzeminski initiated the comeback attempt as he drove Jacob Victor home, who led the inning off with a walk, with an RBI ground-rule double. Back-to-back four-pitch walks by Jacob Martins and Kyle Kush loaded the bases for Carlin Dick, who flew into a sacrifice fly which plated Max Grant. Jake Burlingame ended the game as the tying run at the plate, grounding out to second base.

Monmouth's Rob Hensey was the winning pitcher for the Hawks, improving his record to 5-0. The southpaw allowed just two hits in six innings of work, striking out six Canisius batters.

The lone run surrendered by Hensey was a solo home run by Krzeminski in the fifth inning. For Krzeminski, the home run was his first of the season and his second with the Blue and Gold, as he also hit one against UMass Lowell on Feb. 16, 2020. Krzeminski finished the game going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Will Frank started on the mound for Canisius, pitching only two innings after allowing four runs on six hits and three walks.

Monmouth scored the first six runs of the game, plating a pair of runs in three consecutive innings. The other run scored by the Hawks came on a Canisius throwing error in the fifth.

GAME TWO RECAP
A six-run fifth inning for Canisius helped break a 1-1 tie as the Griffs defeated Monmouth in the team's regular-season finale, 7-1, to split Sunday's doubleheader.

Dylan Vincent drove in the first run for the Griffs in the six-run stanza with an opposite-field double. Jake Zurat plated the second when he brought home Jacob Martins with a sacrifice fly. Kyle Kush hit an RBI double before Mike Steffan cleared the bases with a double, distancing Canisius from Monmouth.

Canisius' first run of the game came in the first inning on an RBI single by Martins. Monmouth tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single by Matt Graber.

Steffan went 2-for-5 with three RBI in the contest, while Martins tied his career-high for hits, going 3-for-4. Jake Burlingame and Kyle Kush also recorded multi-hit performances.

Matt Duffy pitched five innings of relief for Canisius, earning his second win of the week. He allowed four hits while striking out a career-high six.

Ryan Boyer started for the Griffs, retiring all six batters he faced, including four going down via strikeout.

Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments

"Today's games were another battle. We came out slow offensively and started to pick things up a little too late in game one but were able to carry some offense into game two and capitalize on opportunities. On the mound in game two, both [Ryan] Boyer and [Matt] Duffy threw great. It was good to get those two back out into the mix."

"Overall, this weekend, we had the chance to learn a few things about ourselves and hopefully can use it to help us as we approach the playoffs. We need to catch our breath and get ready to go this week."

GAME NOTES
• Despite having his 10-game hit streak snapped in the first game, Jake Burlingame extended his on-base streak to 23 games after reaching base in both games of the twin bill. The streak is the longest for a Canisius player since Christ Conley's reached safely in 26 straight contests in 2018.
• Chiarenza had his on-base streak halted at 21 games after not reaching base before exiting with an apparent injury.
• With his three RBI in the second game, Steffan has driven home 12 of his 19 runs on the year over his last five games.
• Martins extended his hit streak to a career-best eight games with hits in both contests.
• Carlin Dick drew a pair of walks in the second game of the doubleheader. He has drawn nine walks in his last seven games, including three contests with multiple free passes.

UP NEXT
Canisius will await official word from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regarding the Griffs' seeding for the beginning of the MAAC Baseball Tournament, scheduled to begin on Friday. The highest seed in each matchup is expected to host the best-of-three series. Each game will be broadcast on the ESPN Family of Networks.

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