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Canisius University Athletics

#Griffs The Official Home of the Canisius University Golden Griffins | #Griffs
Mike Steffan bats during the 2022 season
Ken Morey
6
Canisius CAN 22-21, 12-7 MAAC
7
Winner Rider RIDERB 23-21, 10-7 MAAC
Canisius CAN
22-21, 12-7 MAAC
6
Final
7
Rider RIDERB
23-21, 10-7 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Canisius CAN 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 6 13 1
Rider RIDERB 0 0 1 0 4 0 2 0 X 7 10 1

W: DelGuercio, (3-1) L: Kochanski, Brett (1-1) S: Stalzer, C. (8)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Rider Plates Six Unanswered Runs to Defeat Baseball

Six unanswered runs between the fifth and seventh innings aided Rider to a 7-6 victory over Canisius in MAAC baseball action Friday afternoon in Lawrenceville, N.J., at Sonny Pittaro Field. 
 
The Broncs used a four-run fifth inning to tie the game, 5-5, before plating two more runs in the seventh to go ahead for good.
 
Sophomore Max Grant and graduate student Mike Steffan had three-hit days for the Golden Griffins (22-21, 12-7). Grant recorded an RBI triple while Steffan drove in three runs on the day, highlighted by a two-run home run.
 
Socrates Bardatsos, Jake Barbiere, Brian Skettini and Alex Diamantis had two-hit days for the Broncs. Bardatsos and Luke Lesch both hit home runs for Rider (23-21, 10-7).
 
Frank DelGuercio earned the victory for Rider, striking out three batters in an inning of work. Cal Stalzer was credited with the save after escaping a ninth-inning jam.
 
Sophomore Matt Duffy was the starting pitcher for Canisius, pitching five-plus innings and allowing six hits and five runs. He walked one and fanned two in his outing.
 
Senior Brett Kochanski was the losing pitcher for the Griffs as he pitched the final three frames. He allowed two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out one.
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius loaded the bases with one out in the first inning with a hit by pitch bookended by singles from junior Brennan Chisholm and Steffan. Graduate student Vinny Chiarenza hit a sacrifice fly that scored Chisholm, putting the Griffs ahead 1-0.
 
After a pitch hit Chisholm to start the third, Grant hit his RBI triple that one-hopped off the center field wall. Grant increased the Griffs' lead to 3-0 as Steffan singled him home.

Rider cut at its deficit in the home half of the third behind a two-out solo home run by Bardatsos.
 
Steffan increased the Golden Griffin lead in the fifth with a two-run home run to left field. The lead, however, would not last long as the Broncs plated four runs with two outs in their half of the fifth, tying the game at 5-all.
 
A Canisius fielding error with one out allowed the first baserunner of the frame to reach. After a flyout, the two-out rally by the Broncs commenced. Bardatsos hit a single down the right field line before Barbiere singled home John Volpe to make it a 5-2 game. Lesch then tied the game with one swing of the bat, depositing a three-run home run into the trees in right field.
 
Rider plated another pair of two-out runs in the seventh as an RBI ground-rule double by Barbiere and an RBI single by Skettini put the Broncs ahead 7-5.
 
Canisius' ninth-inning rally attempt began behind three consecutive singles by junior Mike DeStefano, Chisholm and Grant. Sophomore Carlin Dick hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to make it a 7-6 contest. With the tying run just 90 feet away from home plate, Rider induced a flyout to end the contest.
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Today was a tough one. We were in a good baseball game and didn't do enough to get the win. We had opportunities to put ourselves in the lead offensively and didn't get the hit we needed. We had opportunities to shut the door on them defensively and didn't make it happen. We need to bounce back and get ourselves ready to roll tomorrow bright and early.
 
"Steff [Mike Steffan] and Max had good days for us today. It was good to get them back to form. They were really good today."
 
GAME NOTES
• Friday was the 74th all-time meeting between Canisius and Rider on the baseball diamond. After the setback, the Griffs are now 35-39 all-time over the Broncs.
• Steffan drove in three runs Friday, increasing his total on the year to 50 RBI. He became the first Canisius player with a 50-RBI season since Ryan Stekl (63 RBI) in 2018. Steffan also increased his on-base streak to 29 games behind his three-hit performance.
• Behind Steffan's fifth-inning home run, Canisius now has 39 home runs, which is tied for the fifth-most in a single season (39 in 1994).
• With his RBI triple, Grant now has four triples on the year, tied with 11 other players for the eighth-most by a player in a season. The most recent Griff with a four-triple season was Jacob Victor last season.
• Grant also entered the top-10 in total bases for a season. His 121 bases are the 10th-most by a player and are the most since Liam Wilson (138) in 2018.
• Duffy struck out two batters Friday, increasing his 2022 total to 95, putting him in sole possession of second place in program history. He is four punchouts away from matching Mark West's program record of 99, set back in 2000.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius and Rider will return to Sonny Pittaro Field on Saturday for a 9 a.m. first pitch due to impending weather and commencement ceremonies at Rider University.
 
For complete coverage of Canisius baseball, please follow @GriffsBaseball on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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