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Canisius University Athletics

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J.C. Spinosa celebrates vs. Appalachian State - Feb. 13, 2026
2
Canisius CANISIUS 0-1
5
Winner Appalachian State APPALACH 1-0
Canisius CANISIUS
0-1
2
Final
5
Appalachian State APPALACH
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Canisius CANISIUS 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 2
Appalachian State APPALACH 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 X 5 7 0

W: N. DiRito (1-0) L: Morin, Felix (0-1) S: E. Wilson (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Drops Season Opener at Appalachian State

Redshirt junior catcher Thomas Zwirecki opened the season with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate as Canisius suffered a 5-2 setback at Appalachian State Friday in collegiate baseball action at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, N.C.
 
The Mountaineers opened the season with the win to improve to 1-0 in their non-conference slate, while the Griffs fell to 0-1 to start the season. Appalachian State's RHP Nick DiRito was credited with the win while RHP Ethan Wilson picked up the save. Senior LHP Felix Morin took the loss after 5.0 innings of work with one strikeout, one walk, and two earned runs. Zwirecki recorded a single and a double and drew two walks to reach base in four of his five plate appearances. 
 
The Griffs got on the board first in the top of the third inning as junior JC Spinosa and Zwirecki drew walks, and redshirt junior Tyson Kaufman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior Eric Weeks was then hit by a pitch, bringing home Spinosa to give Canisius a 1-0 lead.
 
Appalachian State answered back in the bottom of the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly from Brooks Wright to tie the game at 1-1.
 
The bottom of the sixth saw the Mountaineers add on two more runs as Kameron Miller singled through the left side to knock in two runs and give Appalachian State the 3-1 lead.
 
Zwirecki made it a one-run game in the top of the seventh with his second hit of the day on a single to the shortstop that scored redshirt freshman Bennett Cox.
 
Appalachian State extended its lead to three runs as the Mountaineers added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth courtesy of one-run singles from Ethan Puig and Drew DuPont to secure the 5-2 win.
 
GAME NOTES
• The Griffs fall to 7-6 all-time in the all-time series against Appalachian State with Friday's loss.
• Canisius stranded 11 runners in the loss, compared to the Mountaineers five.
• The Griffs also struck out 11 times, compared to the Mountaineers four.
• Zwirecki and Cox tallied a game-high two hits in the contest, marking the only two multi-hit players in the game.
• Senior Andrew Marcello recorded a game-high two stolen bases.

UP NEXT
Canisius continues its series at Appalachian State Saturday with a doubleheader. Game one of the double header is set for 1 p.m. with the series finale following at 4 p.m. The games will be streamed live on APPVISION.
 
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