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Canisius University Athletics

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Thomas Zwirecki, Tyson Kaufman, Bennett Cox, and Owen Silliman line up for the national anthem against Saint Peter's - April 3, 2026
Lindy Feider
2
Canisius CANISIUS 15-24
4
Winner Iona ION 16-23
Canisius CANISIUS
15-24
2
Final
4
Iona ION
16-23
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Canisius CANISIUS 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 3
Iona ION 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 X 4 7 0

W: Lang, Luke (4-2) L: LoPinto, Joe (3-6) S: Lender, Tyler (3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Iona Downs Baseball in Game Two to Even Series

Iona plated three runs in the third inning, highlighted by a two-run single from AJ Oden, to erase and early deficit and defeat Canisius, 4-2, Saturday in Metro Atlanitc Athletic Conference baseball action at City Park in New Rochelle, N.Y.
 
With Saturday's win, the Gaels improved to 16-23 overall and 12-10 in MAAC action. The Golden Griffins, meanwhile, fell to 15-24 overall and 11-12 in conference play.
 
Redshirt junior Thomas Zwirecki tallied the only RBI in the contest for the Griffs, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk. On the mound, junior Joe LoPinto was credited with the loss, tossing six innings, allowing four runs while striking out two.
 
Oden's two-run single highlighted a Gaels lineup that delivered seven hits, with four of those coming in the third. On the mound, Luke Lang recorded the win, as he scattered four hits and two runs in six innings while fanning eight Canisius batters. Tyler Lender tossed a scoreless ninth inning pick up his third save of the season.
 
Canisius opened the scoring in the second as redshirt freshman Bennett Cox lined a 2-2 pitch down the left field line for a triple and later scored on a wild pitch to give the Griffs a 1-0 lead. The Gaels threatened in the bottom half of the frame with runners on first and second and one out, but LoPinto worked out of the jam to keep Iona off the board.
 
Iona broke through in the third as Aiden Ciprian and Sean Stephenson each singled to put runners on first and second before Malachi Costello brought home the first run of the frame on a ground-rule double to left center. Oden capped the scoring in the frame one batter later, ripping the second pitch of the at-bat through the left side for a two-run single to give Iona a 3-1 lead.
 
The Gaels added another run in the fourth as Anthony Zollo led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on an RBI single up the middle from Braize Mitchell to extend Iona's lead to three runs.
 
The Griffs responded in the fifth, plating a run on an RBI single from Zwirecki that brought senior Andrew Marcello home from second to cut the Iona lead to 4-2.
 
Iona held the Griffs hitless over the final four innings, with Lender retiring the side in order in the final frame to secure the 4-2 victory.

GAME NOTES
• With Saturday's loss, Canisius now leads the series between the two programs with a 46-28 record.
• Zwirecki extended his hit streak to 10 games with his RBI single in the fifth. The catcher tallied the only RBI for the Blue and Gold, and now has three RBI in the series.
• Coming out of the pen, freshman Mark Rogers tossed two innings, allowing no hits in an appearance for the first time in his collegiate career.
• Cox came around to score in the second inning on a wild pitch, marking his 31st run scored on the season. The freshman leads the Golden Griffins in runs, hits (52), and total bases (66).
• Canisius was credited with three errors in game two, moving their series total to five, while Iona has committed just one error.
• Junior Eric Weeks continued his torrid pace at the plate as the reigning MAAC Player of the Week was awarded two free passes while picking up one of the Canisus hits in the loss. Over his last five games, Weeks has eight hits and six RBI.
• In Saturday's matchup, Canisius and Iona both left seven runners stranded on base.

UP NEXT
Canisius concludes its weekend series at Iona Sunday with the series finale set for noon at City Park in New Rochelle, N.Y.
 
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