Baseball drops MAAC series to Manhattan

Box Score Manhattan blasted four home runs to comeback from a three run deficit in their 12-8 victory over Canisius Saturday In collegiate baseball action at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, N.Y.

The Jaspers (9-17, 3-3 MAAC) tallied 10 RBI off of 12 hits, highlighted by Dylan Mayer's third home run of the series and Drew Wyers' game sealing homer in the eighth. The Golden Griffins (7-15, 1-2 MAAC) drop their conference opening series despite slugging three home runs of their own.

Sophomore Tommy Sheridan led the Griffs offensively, going 2-for-4 as the designated hitter with three RBI. His two hits came as his first career home runs, hitting a two-run blast to dead center field in the third and a solo shot in the sixth inning. Junior Jackson Strong recorded his seventh home run of the season and his second of the series.

Senior Clifton Genge was charged with the loss while Garrett Garbinski held the lead for Jaspers in the final three innings to earn the win.

The early innings of the ball game were slug fest as both teams exchanged home runs. Graduate Mike DeStefano led the game off with a triple and was driven in by Strong's home run in the following at-bat. Redshirt freshman Thomas Zwirecki added a run with a bloop single over the third baseman to score junior Cole Sebastian as the Griffs established an early 3-0 lead.

Trevor Hansen got the Jaspers on the board in the second with a two-run homer to cut the deficit to one run. Sebastian answered in the bottom half of the second, hitting a two-run double to put the score at 4-2.

Mayer hit a home run in the third and cut into the lead once more before Sheridan blasted his first home run in the bottom half of the inning, expanding the Canisius lead to 6-3.

The Jaspers kept battling, tying the game in the fifth inning as Daniel Perez hit a solo home run alongside RBI singles from Vincent Davis and Chase Swain. In the sixth inning, the Jaspers loaded the bases and scored two runs on a ground out and a single from Hansen to take an 8-6 lead.

Sheridan hit his second home run of the day in the bottom of the sixth, and freshman JC Spinosa scored from first on a throwing error fielding a Howie Stuckey bunt to tie the game at 8-all.

Unfortunately, the Griffs were unable to retake the lead and the Jaspers rattled off four unanswered runs in the final three innings to take the 12-8 victory.

Game Notes:
•The Griffs move to 43-47 all-time against the Jaspers after dropping two out of three in the series
•Sheridan's two home runs marked the first and second home runs of his collegiate career. He also tallied his first RBIs of the season in today's contest
•Sophomore Felix Morin got the start for Canisius on the mound and struck out a career high eight batters
•Strong extended his on-base streak to 19 games
•The Griffs dropped their opening MAAC series for the first time since they lost to Manhattan in Pomona, N.Y. on March 25-26, 2022
•The Griffs hit eight home runs in this series, the most this season in a three-game match-up

Up Next:
Canisius will resume their non-conference schedule on Tuesday, traveling to Syracuse, N.Y. to take on the Le Moyne Dolphins at 3 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

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

#9 Cole Sebastian: OF; 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R

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

#12 Tommy Sheridan: C; 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R

#20 Felix Morin: LHP; 6' 4"; Freshman; L/L

#33 Thomas Zwirecki: C; 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R

#36 Clifton Genge: RHP; 6' 2"; Junior; R/R

#15 JC Spinosa: INF/OF; 5' 11"; Freshman; R/R

#6 Howie Stuckey: INF; 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

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

#9 Cole Sebastian
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

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

#12 Tommy Sheridan
: 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R
: C

#20 Felix Morin
: 6' 4"; Freshman; L/L
: LHP

#33 Thomas Zwirecki
: 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R
: C

#36 Clifton Genge
: 6' 2"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#15 JC Spinosa
: 5' 11"; Freshman; R/R
: INF/OF

#6 Howie Stuckey
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior; R/R
: INF