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Canisius University Athletics

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Mike DeStefano throws a ball during game action vs. Manhattan
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7
Canisius CAN 7-9
8
Winner North Carolina A&T NCATBB 8-9
Canisius CAN
7-9
7
Final
8
North Carolina A&T NCATBB
8-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 R H E
Canisius CAN 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 15 4
North Carolina A&T NCATBB 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 13 2

W: BREWINGTON, Isaiah (1-0) L: Consigli, Peyton (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

North Carolina A&T Opens Series with Walk-Off Victory

Xavier Bussey hit a walk-off RBI double in the 13th inning, aiding North Carolina A&T to an 8-7 victory over Canisius at World War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, N.C., on Saturday evening.
 
Bussey was one of three Aggie hitters to record three hits on the day, joined by teammates Camden Jackson and Anthony Hennings.
 
Junior Mike DeStefano drove in a team-high three runs in the contest, while senior Kyle Kush went 3-for-6 in the contest. Kush was one of six Golden Griffins to register multi-hit performances. Graduate student Gibson Krzeminski scored three times in the contest. 
 
Isaiah Brewington earned the victory for the Aggies (8-9), pitching 1.2 innings of relief, while striking out three and not allowing a hit.
 
Sophomore Matt Duffy fanned seven over his 5.2 innings for Canisius (7-9), while yielding four runs on five hits. Freshman Peyton Consigli was the losing pitcher after pitching 2.1 innings out of the bullpen.
 
GAME RECAP
Both teams struggled to garner any offense early in the contest, combining for just two hits over the first four innings.
 
DeStefano opened the scoring in the third inning on the power of a sacrifice fly. He drove home Krzeminski, who led the inning off by reaching on a fielding error.
 
After each team struggled at the plate, Canisius and North Carolina A&T combined for 15 hits between the fifth and eighth innings.
 
A T.J. Ash triple to the left-center gap setting up an RBI single by Canyon Brown, which allowed the Aggies to tie the game, 1-1, in the fifth.
 
Sophomore Max Grant led off the sixth with a home run, putting the Griffs back in front, 2-1. The Aggies took the lead in the bottom half of the inning, plating three runs to go ahead 4-2.
 
An RBI single by Jackson brought home Cort Maynard to tie the game before a go-ahead, two-run home run by Hennings put the Aggies ahead 4-2.
 
The lead for North Carolina A&T was short-lived as Canisius plated four runs in the seventh, taking a 6-4 lead.
 
Senior Dylan Vincent drew a leadoff walk and stole second before an RBI triple by Krzeminski trimmed the Aggies' defeat. A throwing error by the second baseman allowed Krzeminski to score, tying the game at 4-all. Following a Mike Mazzara walk, DeStefano hit a two-run home run to right field, giving Canisius the lead again.
 
North Carolina A&T countered the Griffs' scoring outburst with three runs of their own, regaining the lead.
 
Ash reached second base on a fielding error to open the Aggies' part of the seventh inning before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Following back-to-back strikeouts, three consecutive run-scoring hits by North Carolina A&T put the Aggies ahead, 7-6.
 
Krzeminski's third run of the contest came on an RBI single by Kush in the eighth to draw the contest even at 7-all.
 
Graduate student Mike Steffan prevented a walk-off base hit in the ninth inning, throwing out an Aggie runner trying to score.
 
Both teams had a chance to score in the 11th inning, but both pitching staffs were able to escape bases-loaded jams.
 
In the 13th inning, Cameran Brantley led the frame off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, setting up Bussey's walk-off double.
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Today was a great example of what we will encounter moving forward in conference play. Two teams that came to compete and didn't want to lose. We didn't make enough plays and put together enough good at-bats to put us on the winning side today. We had strong performances on the mound and good at-bats here and there, but just not when we needed it most in the end.
 
"Mike DeStefano has been putting together a solid season thus far. He is playing a position for the first time in his career and is doing a great job for us. He is putting together strong at-bats game in and game out. He works hard and has put himself in a position to continue to have success moving forward."
 
GAME NOTES
• Friday was the inaugural meeting between the Golden Griffins and Aggies on the baseball diamond.
• It was the seventh time Canisius played a game that needed at least 13 innings to play. Canisius is now 4-3 in games needing 13-plus innings. Friday was the first time Canisius lost a game that took at least 13 innings since April 10, 2011, in a 3-2 loss at George Washington.
• Canisius struck out 16 batters in the contest, marking the most by a Golden Griffin pitching staff since also fanning 16 against Siena on March 23, 2019.
• DeStefano extended his on-base streak to 16 games with his two-run home run in the seventh inning. He also matched his single-game high for RBI (3), which was previously accomplished last season at Niagara (April 14).
• Grant had a pair of hits in the contest, marking his 10th game this season with at least two hits. He now has 20 career multi-hit performances in 44 career appearances.
• Duffy struck out seven batters in the contest. He now has at least seven strikeouts in each of his last six appearances.
• Peltier struck out four batters over three shutout innings of relief. The four punch outs by the southpaw matched his career high, previously established against Pitt on Feb. 20.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius and North Carolina A&T continue its three-game series on Saturday with a 3 p.m. first pitch from World War Memorial Stadium.
 
For complete coverage of Canisius baseball, please follow @GriffsBaseball on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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