Baseball Continues Road Swing at St. Bonaventure Tuesday

Games 26-27
Canisius (10-15, 6-0 MAAC) at St. Bonaventure (5-20, 2-4 A10)
Date: Tuesday, April 11
Time: 2:00/5:00 p.m.
Location: Olean, N.Y. | Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field
Live Stats: Through gobonnies.com
Twitter: @GriffsBaseball | #Griffs | #MAACBaseball

• First Pitch
The Canisius baseball team continues its eight-game road trip when it heads to Olean to face Little Three foe St. Bonaventure for a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday.

First pitch of the opening game from Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field in Olean is scheduled for 2 p.m.

• Last Time Out
The Griffs suffered a series sweep at the hands of Morehead State this past weekend. Canisius fell 18-4, 10-4 and 9-7 against the Eagles.

Sophomore Jackson Strong went 6-14 on the weekend, taking over for the team lead with a .371 batting average.

Senior Mike DeStefano went 7-12 and has now recorded a multi-hit game in seven of his last eight contests. DeStefano is also tied with Anthony Massicci for the sixth-most career stolen bases in program history with 43.

• Series Against the Bonnies
Tuesday will mark the 109th and 110th all-time meetings between Canisius and St. Bonaventure.

The Bonnies hold a slim 53-52-3 advantage over the Griffs in the series. The teams first played one another in 1954 when Canisius won both games that year by scores of 12-7 and 9-8.

Canisius swept the two-game series last season with an 11-1 win in Olean and a come-from-behind 10-8 victory at the Demske Sports Complex.

In Olean, five Canisius pitchers combined to strike out seven batters while holding the Bonas to one run on April 12, 2022.

Jake Zurat hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth on April 26 of last season to help the Griffs sweep the series

• Duffy Making History
Despite the loss, junior Matt Duffy made history in Friday's contest, passing for Griffs' hurler Andrew Sipowicz for fourth all-time in program history for career strikeouts.

Duffy's 210 punchouts puts him 16 away from passing Devon Stewart for third place.

In the start against Morehead State, Duffy finished with 10 strikeouts, giving him back-to-back starts with double digit punchouts after fanning a career-high 13 batters against Iona on March 31.

This marks the second time in his career that he has had back-to-back starts with at least 10 strikeouts while also marking the eighth time in his three years on Main Street that he has recorded a double-digit strikeout game.

Duffy currently sits third all-time with a career strikeout-per-nine innings ratio of 11.1.

• Up Next
The Blue and Gold will travel to New Jersey to square off with MAAC rival Rider for a three-game set beginning Friday. First pitches for the series are set for 3 p.m., 2 p.m. and noon with Saturday's contest being played at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, N.J.

For complete coverage of Canisius baseball, please follow @griffsbaseball on Instagram and Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Jake Zurat: C; 5' 10"; Graduate Student; R/R

#4 Mike DeStefano: OF/INF; 6' 0"; Senior; L/R

#14 Matt Duffy: RHP; 6' 2"; Junior; L/R

#22 Jackson Strong: OF; 6' 1"; Sophomore; L/L

Players Mentioned

#13 Jake Zurat
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student; R/R
: C

#4 Mike DeStefano
: 6' 0"; Senior; L/R
: OF/INF

#14 Matt Duffy
: 6' 2"; Junior; L/R
: RHP

#22 Jackson Strong
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; L/L
: OF