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Canisius University Athletics

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Dylan Vincent bats against Niagara during the 2022 season
Lindy Feider
7
Niagara University NIA 14-28, 9-9 MAAC
8
Winner Canisius CAN 22-20, 12-6 MAAC
Niagara University NIA
14-28, 9-9 MAAC
7
Final
8
Canisius CAN
22-20, 12-6 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 R H E
Niagara University NIA 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 14 1
Canisius CAN 1 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 8 16 0

W: Consigli, Peyton (4-2) L: Erwin, Ben (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Vincent's Walk-Off RBI Single Lifts Baseball Over Niagara

Senior Dylan Vincent's walk-off RBI single in the 14th inning capped Canisius' 8-7 victory over Niagara on Sunday in the longest baseball game played at the Demske Sports Complex.
 
Graduate student Mike Steffan went 4-for-7 with three runs scored, including the game-winning run. Vincent finished the day 3-of-5 with three walks, three steals and a pair of runs. Senior Kyle Kush also had a multi-hit performance for Canisius (22-20, 12-6), going 3-for-6.
 
Freshman Aaron Duffy earned the start for Canisius, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing eight hits and five runs. Fellow freshman Peyton Consigli was the winning pitcher for the Golden Griffins after getting the final out in the top of the 14th.
 
Senior David Yankowski and sophomore Levi Abbott logged career highs in strikeouts out of the bullpen. Yankowski punched out five over 3.2 shutout innings of relief, while Abbott had six over 3.1 innings.
 
Vincent Mauro and Max Giordano drove in two runs apiece for Niagara (14-28, 9-9). Dawson Bailey and Matt Ward had three-hit days for the Purple Eagles.
 
Blake MacMillan pitched the first three-plus innings for Niagara, yielding four hits and three runs. Ben Erwin was the losing pitcher for the Purple Eagles, giving up three runs (two earned) over two innings.
 
GAME RECAP
Giordano opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the first, which gave Niagara a 1-0 lead.
 
In the home half of the first, Steffan singled home junior Mike DeStefano before Steffan was thrown out at second trying to stretch his hit into a double.
 
Cole O'Connor opened the third with a double down the right field line before scoring on a Canisius wild pitch.
 
Canisius took the lead in the fourth behind a three-run inning. After a leadoff single by Steffan, graduate student Vinny Chiarenza and Vincent drew consecutive walks, leading to a Niagara pitching change. Sophomore Carlin Dick recorded the first of three straight base hits for the Griffs. Dick singled home Steffan and graduate student Mike Mazzara added an RBI single. DeStefano increased the lead later in the frame, 4-2, on an RBI fielder's choice.
 
Niagara scored the subsequent three runs, taking a 5-4 lead in the sixth. Giordano hit an RBI double in the fifth before a solo home run by Ward and an RBI double by Bailey in the sixth gave the Purple Eagles a 5-4 advantage.
 
DeStefano added his second RBI fielder's choice in the home half of the sixth, tying the game at 5-all.
 
Abbott escaped a jam in the 12th inning, stranding two runners in scoring position with an inning-ending strikeout.
 
Canisius had a chance to win the game in the 12th on the power of a two-out rally. Kush hit a single up the middle before DeStefano and junior Brennan Chisholm drew four-pitch walks after the first two batters were retired. Erwin came out of the bullpen and shut down the rally with a strikeout, forcing the game into the 13th inning.
 
Mauro ended the scoreless streak between the two clubs in the top of the 13th with a two-out, two-run triple to the right-center field gap, giving the Purple Eagles a 7-5 lead.
 
Steffan led off the Griffs' portion of the 13th inning with a single. After a strikeout, Vincent reached safely on a Niagara fielding error putting runners at 1st and 2nd. In his first plate appearance after entering the game as a defensive replacement, junior Kenny Dodson trimmed the Purple Eagles' lead to 7-6 with an opposite field RBI single. Following Dodson's steal of second base, Mazzara drove in the game-tying run on a sacrifice fly.
 
Niagara threatened in the 14th inning as a hit batsman and a walk forced a Canisius pitching change. A wild pitch allowed both Purple Eagle runners to advance 90 feet, putting a pair of runners in scoring position. Senior Alec Ritzenthaler struck out the only batter he faced before Consigli was called in from the bullpen and walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases. The next batter flew out, ending the frame and keeping the game tied.
 
After the Griffs opened their portion of the 14th inning off with a strikeout and groundout, Steffan ignited a two-out comeback with a single to left-center field before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Redshirt freshman Josh Niles drew a walk, setting up Vincent's walk-off RBI single.
 
Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments
"Today was a roller coaster of every baseball emotion imaginable. Both teams didn't want to lose and we both got amazing performances from guys on the mound and defensive gems. That was just a great baseball game. To come out on top is great for us, but at the end of the day, you got to tip your cap. That game was a playoff environment and you're going to encounter that stuff. To come out was huge for us as a whole.
 
"Sometimes, in such long of a game, I think we're trying to get the extra-base hit, but the weather doesn't allow us to get the extra-base hits. It was good for them to work on getting on top of the baseball, fight for everything they needed to do and get the job done.
 
"To do what [Levi Abbott] did is exactly who we recruited. He's starting to come into his own on the mound. The season didn't start great, but his last few outings have been lights out. He's being the guy that we know he can be and that's big for us down the stretch.
 
"I continue to be impressed with their ability to fight back out of holes. We've done it all year long and they know what the recipe is for it and today took everybody. Kenny Dodson to do that was humongous for us as a team. To be down in that situation, have the winds knocked out of your sails, and find a way to overcome that speaks again to our program and team."
 
GAME NOTES
• Sunday marked the 224th all-time meeting between the "Battle of the Bridge" rivals. Canisius is now 116-108 over Niagara with the victory.
• The 14-inning contest is tied for the longest game, based on innings, in program history. It is the second time in as many years the Griffs have played a 14-inning contest (March 27, 2021 at Iona).
• Sunday's game was the longest at the Demske Sports Complex, besting a 13-inning game on May 19, 2017, also against Niagara.
• Canisius matched its season high for strikeouts (16), last done in a 13-inning contest at North Carolina A&T on March 18. The team increased its season strikeout total to 400, which is the fifth time a team posted 400 strikeouts (444 in 2015, 434 in 2018, 423 in 2016 and 411 in 2017).
• Yankowski's five punchouts matched his single-game high for the fourth time in his career. He has logged five strikeouts in his last two outings and has 14 over his last 12.1 innings.
• Abbott struck out a career-high six batters Sunday, breaking his previous high of four, accomplished four times prior.
• Consigli recorded his fourth win of the season on Sunday. He is the first freshman with at least four wins since Andrew Fron (4 in 2019).
• As a team, Canisius stole six bases Sunday, marking the most since recording seven steals at Manhattan on March 26. Of the six steals, Vincent had three, marking the second time this year he swiped three bases (also done at Manhattan in the game on March 26).
• DeStefano also had a multi-steal game, logging two on Sunday. He now has 19 on the season, tied for the sixth-most by a Canisius player. He is in a five-way tie with Herm Lewis (1980), Dave Mahoney (1994), Kevin Mahoney (2009) and Connor Panas (2015).
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will play its final non-conference contest of the regular season Tuesday when the Griffs travel to the Southern Tier to play Binghamton. First pitch between the Golden Griffins and Bearcats at the brand-new Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, N.Y., is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
For complete coverage of Canisius baseball, please follow @GriffsBaseball on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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