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Canisius University Athletics

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Mike DeStefano looks at the pitcher against Marist
Ken Morey
12
Marist MARIST 16-12, 6-4 MAAC
17
Winner Canisius CAN 16-14, 7-3 MAAC
Marist MARIST
16-12, 6-4 MAAC
12
Final
17
Canisius CAN
16-14, 7-3 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Marist MARIST 3 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 0 12 13 4
Canisius CAN 0 6 3 0 2 3 1 2 X 17 18 1

W: Duffy, Matt (4-2) L: Jack Bowery (2-1) S: Consigli, Peyton (3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Outlasts Marist in Slugfest

Canisius outlasted Marist, 17-12, in a Thursday afternoon slugfest at the Demske Sports Complex. The two teams combined for 29 runs and 31 hits in the opening game of a three-game MAAC baseball series.
 
Junior Mike DeStefano and sophomore Max Grant had four-hit days for the Griffs. DeStefano, who finished a home run shy of the cycle, tied the program record for runs scored with five. Grant drove in a team-high four runs as Canisius (16-14, 7-3) won its fifth consecutive game. Senior Kyle Kush also aided the Griffs' 18-hit attack, going 3-for-4 with three RBI.
 
Reece Armitage was 3-for-4 at the plate for Marist (16-12, 6-4), hitting a double and home run. Brian Hart drove in a Marist-best four runs while going 1-for-5.
 
Sophomore Matt Duffy earned his fourth victory, logging six innings of work. He allowed four runs on seven hits while issuing a pair of walks and struck out nine. Freshman Peyton Consigli continued his dominance on the mound, earning his third save of the year. Consigli struck out four in two innings of relief while not allowing a base runner.
 
Marist starter Jack Bowery was the losing pitcher after he could not escape the second inning. He allowed five hits and six runs (one earned) during his outing.
 
GAME RECAP
Four of the first six Marist batters recorded hits off Duffy to open the contest. Brian Hart hit an 0-2 pitch over the right field fence that put the Red Foxes ahead early.
 
Duffy then settled into a groove, scattering just three hits over the remaining five innings of his outing. He settled in on the mound due to nine unanswered Griffs runs over the second and third innings.
 
In the second, Canisius jumped on Marist's starter, plating six runs in the frame to take a 6-3 lead. Three of the first four batters reached base, setting up a two-run single by Kush that trimmed Marist's lead to 3-2. Following a line out, a two-out rally commenced behind three consecutive RBI singles by DeStefano, junior Kenny Dodson and Grant. Graduate student Mike Steffan drew a walk to load the bases for his classmate, Jake Zurat, who was hit by a 3-0 pitch that scored the inning's sixth run.
 
Kush drove in his third run of the game in the third with an RBI double. After a sacrifice bunt, DeStefano doubled home Kush to make it 8-3. DeStefano scored later in the frame on a Marist passed ball.
 
On a solo home run in the fifth, Reece Armitage trimmed the Canisius lead to 9-4. The Griffs, however, were able to extend its lead to seven on a two-run home run by Grant.
 
In the sixth, graduate student Vinny Chiarenza roped a pinch-hit two-run single up the middle putting the Blue and Gold ahead 13-4. Grant followed up with an RBI double to center field, giving the Griffs a 10-run lead.
 
Marist did not go down without a fight, as the Red Foxes plated eight runs in the seventh, trimming Canisius' lead to 14-12. After an RBI fielder's choice, six of Marist's eight runs came with two outs, which began with a two-run double by Gavin Noreig. Following three straight hits — including an RBI single by Johnny Decker — and a Marist hit batsman, Devin Boone cleared the bases with a triple, cutting the deficit to 14-11. Gene Napolitano followed with an RBI single to cap the scoring for the visitors.
 
Zurat responded to the eight-run inning with an opposite field RBI single in the home half of the seventh.
 
In the eighth, Canisius added a pair of insurance markers behind a couple of errors by Marist's second baseman and a pinch-hit RBI single by graduate student Gibson Krzeminski.
 
Consigli slammed the door on any Marist comeback retiring all six batters he faced, including setting down the final four on strikes.
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Today was a great offensive effort. It was great to outlast them. Marist has a good offense. They came back and showed some fight. We continued to pour it on offensively, which is always good and helps us. We got another great start out of Matt Duffy and we did what we needed to do offensively today.
 
"Responding is big for our program and our team. That's part of our identity and we need to do that. We're never out of the fight and that's how we go into everything. To respond like they did, putting up a six-spot in the second, was awesome. It set the tone. It made guys want to keep going.
 
"Mike [DeStefano] and Max [Grant] have been the most consistent hitters we have. They're never out of any AB. You can count that they're going to find barrels. They're going get on base and cause havoc. They've been so consistent and it's hard to put it into words."
 
GAME NOTES
• Thursday was the 78th meeting between Canisius and Marist. With the win, Canisius is now 35-43 all-time over the Red Foxes and is 8-2 in its last 10 against them. Over the last 13 home games against Marist, the Griffs are 11-2.
• The Griffs' five-game win streak is the program's longest since a six-game streak in 2019.
• Canisius now won its last six MAAC games, marking the longest MAAC win streak since winning 14 straight over the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
• The 17 runs Thursday were a season high and was the sixth consecutive contest with 10-plus runs. That streak is now the longest in program history. Previously, the program had a pair of five-game double-digit run streaks (1956 and 2018).
• In its 16 wins this season, Canisius has scored 172 runs, leading to an average of 10.8 runs per contest.
• Duffy struck out nine Marist batters, increasing his season total to 74. His strikeout total ranks as the eighth-most by a Canisius pitcher in a single season. He passed Andrew Sipowicz (71 in 2019), Shane Davis (70 in 2010) and J.P. Stevenson (69 in 2015) in the top 10.
• DeStefano's five runs tied the program record, set six times previously by five individuals. Sophomore Carlin Dick was the most recent player to do so against Saint Peter's on May 12, 2021.
• Along with his five runs, DeStefano extended his on-base streak to 30 games. It is the first 30-game on-base streak by a Griff since Liam Wilson reached base safely in 57 consecutive contests spanning the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius and Marist continue its three-game Easter Weekend series with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
For complete coverage of Canisius baseball, please follow @GriffsBaseball on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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