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Canisius University Athletics

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Matt Mazurek coaches third base against West Virginia during the 2022 season
Marshall Haim
8
St. Bonaventure SBU 2-28
10
Winner Canisius CAN 18-18
St. Bonaventure SBU
2-28
8
Final
10
Canisius CAN
18-18
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Bonaventure SBU 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 8 10 2
Canisius CAN 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 2 2 10 13 0

W: Consigli, Peyton (3-2) L: ROGGENBURK, Luke (0-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Zurat's Pinch-Hit, Walk-Off Home Run Gives Mazurek Career Win No. 100

Graduate student Jake Zurat hit a two-run, pinch-hit, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Canisius a 10-8 victory over St. Bonaventure in non-conference baseball action at the Demske Sports Complex on Tuesday.
 
Zurat's home run cemented the 100th career head coaching victory for Golden Griffins head coach Matt Mazurek, who became the third skipper in program history to reach the century mark for wins, joining Mike McRae (405) and Don Colploys (325). Mazurek needed just 197 games to reach the 100-win plateau, beating his predecessor McRae to the milestone by 35 games (232). 
 
Sophomore Max Grant went 4-for-4 at the plate for Canisius (18-18), logging a double, triple and three RBI. Junior Mike DeStefano also had a double and triple while going 3-for-5. Zurat and sophomore Carlin Dick drove in a pair of runs apiece behind the power of two-run home runs.
 
Canisius used nine pitchers in the contest. Junior Rockne Seidel started for the Griffs, allowing a pair of runs on one hit during his one-inning start. He walked three and struck out two. Fellow junior Cole Murray (2), redshirt freshman Ethan Hennessy (4) and freshman Peyton Consigli (2) also recorded multi-strikeout performances.
 
Consigli earned his third victory, allowing a hit and posting his two strikeouts.
 
Kyle Caringi yielded eight hits for St. Bonaventure (2-28) in his start. He allowed six runs (three earned) while walking two and fanning four.
 
Luke Roggenburk was the losing pitcher for the Bonnies.
 
GAME RECAP
Chet Szablewski gave St. Bonaventure a 2-0 lead in the first behind a two-out, two-run double to the left-center field gap.
 
Grant singled home DeStefano, who led off the home half of the inning with a triple to the right-center field gap, trimming the Bonnies' lead to 2-1.
 
DeStefano recorded his second extra base-hit in as many at-bats, setting up Dick's two-run home run, which gave Canisius a 3-2 lead in the third.
 
Junior Lukas Barry escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth with one out after getting a strikeout and groundout to prevent St. Bonaventure from scoring.
 
In the next half inning, Canisius extended its lead, 6-2, behind two runs scoring on a St. Bonaventure dropped fly ball. Grant followed with an RBI single to punctuate a three-run inning for the Griffs.
 
St. Bonaventure used a five-run sixth to take a 7-6 lead on Canisius. The Bonnies plated runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch before Danny Manion hit a three-run home run into the netting in left field.
 
A sacrifice bunt by Jake Biscailuz drove in another run for St. Bonaventure in the eighth, increasing the Bonnies' lead to 8-6.
 
Grant and graduate student Vinny Chiarenza recorded two-out RBI singles in the home half of the frame that tied the game at 8-all.
 
Consigli escaped trouble in the ninth after allowing a leadoff double by Matthew Williams. Following Williams' base hit, Consigli induced a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to keep the game tied.
 
Senior Kyle Kush drew a four-pitch walk to open Canisius' portion of the ninth. After a strikeout, the Griffs brought Zurat in for a pinch-hit situation.
 
Zurat went down 0-2 in the count before drawing three consecutive balls, loading the count. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, after fouling off a pitch, the graduate student hit a two-run blast to straightaway center field, giving Canisius the walk-off victory.
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Today defines any guy, any time, no matter what, when or how. We used a lot of guys on the mound. We had some guys that did really well, got some different guys in the offensive lineup and got some guys that have been good for us at the plate. Jake Zurat did a great job winning us the ball game.
 
"The resiliency of this group has been with us all year and is not something that will go away. They've been really good all year with that and it's never a worry. We go down six against Ohio, and it's like, 'Hey, we've been here before, keep chipping away,' and they get it. To see them do it again today was great. We're not deterred if we give up a bunch [of runs] because we know we can score a bunch. It's keeping them locked in, keeping them having good at-bats. Max and Vinny, to do that with two outs in the eighth, helped propel us get to victory.
 
"It's [Peyton Consigli's outing] impressive because it shows a maturity that not many kids his age have. That's a testament to how he's been raised. His maturity shows on the outside and helps him on the mound. That's not the first time he's [allowed an extra-base hit to open an inning]. Quinnipiac recorded a leadoff triple against him and he strikes out the side. Toady, he gives up a leadoff double and strands him at third. The kid just competes and that's a product of his maturity.
 
"The milestone is great. It's not a personal thing. It's good for the program. To keep the success going and be handed the torch from the coaches who came before me is special to me. I hope that it's something that continues to go no matter who is in the chair at Canisius College in the baseball program. As long as success is in the program, it doesn't matter who. Thank you to all the players that have helped me get to where I am."
 
GAME NOTES
• Tuesday was the 108th meeting between the Little Three rivals. Canisius is now 52-53-3 all-time over the Bonnies and has won 18 of its last 23 over its Western New York foe.
• Canisius has scored 112 runs over its last nine home games, scoring at least 10 runs in each contest.
• Zurat's walk-off home run was Canisius' first since Ryan Stekl hit a three-run blast against Buffalo on April 11, 2017. It was the Griffs' first walk-off victory since a Rider fielding error gave Canisius the victory exactly one year ago (April 26, 2021).
• Grant logged his fifth four-hit game of the season on Tuesday. He is the first Canisius player on record since 2000 to have at least five four-hit games in a season.
• For the second time in his last seven games, DeStefano logged a double and triple in the same game (April 14 vs. Marist).
• Grant also recorded a double and triple in the contest. He has 11 extra-base hits (seven doubles, two triples and two home runs) in his last 11 games.
• Dick's third-inning home run was his first since the MAAC Quarterfinals against Marist on May 20, 2021.
• Hennessy struck out a career-high four batters during his 2.1 innings of relief.
• Seidel made his third career start Tuesday. It was his first start since March 22, 2020, at Winthrop. His two strikeouts were the most since fanning four in his collegiate debut against UMass Lowell on Feb. 16, 2020.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius heads to the Capital District for a three-game MAAC series against Siena. The set from Connors Park is slated to begin Friday, April 29 at 3 p.m. Every game of the series will be broadcast on SienaSaints.com through Siena All-Access.
 
For complete coverage of Canisius baseball, please follow @GriffsBaseball on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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