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Blake Herman celebrates on second base in a midweek matchup vs. Bowling Green - April 15, 2026
Tom Wolf
7
Winner Canisius CANISIUS 16-24
1
Iona ION 16-24
Winner
Canisius CANISIUS
16-24
7
Final
1
Iona ION
16-24
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Canisius CANISIUS 0 0 0 3 0 4 0 0 0 7 12 1
Iona ION 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 1

W: Albano, Noah (3-2) L: Kossow, Jackson (1-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Claims Series Over Iona With Sunday Win

Freshman Blake Herman went 2-for-4 at the plate, highlighted by his three-run homer in the fourth, to propel Canisius to a 7-1 series-clinching win over Iona Sunday in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball action at City Park in New Rochelle, N.Y.
 
The Golden Griffins secured their fifth series win of the season and improved to 16-24 overall and 12-12 in MAAC play with the victory. Iona fell to 16-24 overall and 12-11 in conference play with the setback.
 
Redshirt junior Thomas Zwirecki capped off a solid weekend at the plate with a 4-for-5 performance in the series finale, driving in one run. Redshirt freshman Bennett Cox went 3-for-5 with an RBI. On the mound, sophomore Noah Albano recorded the win, improving his season record to 3-2 after tossing two innings of relief work, allowing just four hits while fanning one.
 
Malachi Costello drove in the only run for Iona, courtesy of his solo shot in the fourth, to highlight a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. Anthony Zollo was the only other Gael with multiple hits on the day as he also finished 2-for-4. Jackson Kossow was tabbed with the loss as he tossed two innings out of the bullpen and surrendered three runs.
 
The Griffs threatened early in the second inning as Zwirecki doubled down the left field line, followed by an infield single from Herman. With runners on the corners, the Gaels worked out of the jam with two fly outs to keep the game scoreless.
 
Iona responded in the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles from Kiernan Kehoe and Zollo, but the Griffs worked out of their first jam of the game, as the Gaels stranded runners on first and second.
 
The Blue and Gold broke through in the fourth behind consecutive singles from Zwirecki and junior Eric Weeks. With runners on first and second, Herman worked the count full before launching a three-run homer to left to open the scoring. Iona answered in the bottom half of the frame with a leadoff solo home run from Costello, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
 
The Griffs added to their lead with two outs in the sixth as redshirt sophomore Michael Kelly drew a walk and Tyson Kaufman was hit by a pitch. With two on, Cox delivered an infield single to score a run before senior Mason Cisco followed with a two-run single through the left side to extend the lead. Zwirecki then capped the inning with his third hit of the day, an RBI single that pushed the advantage to six.
 
Canisius held onto the lead the rest of the way as senior Sam Staerker came out of the pen for the final frame, retiring the Gaels in order to secure the 7-1 win.

GAME NOTES
• With Sunday's win, Canisius now leads the series between the two programs with a 47-28 record.
• Zwirecki's 4-for-5 performance in the series finale capped off a series in which the redshirt junior went a combined 7-for-14, batting .500 and driving in four runs.
• Cox finished the series versus the Gaels a combined 7-for-14 with one RBI. The Newton Square, Pa., native leads the team with his .372 batting average, 32 runs, 55 hits ad 69 total bases.
• Herman's three-run shot in the fourth was his fourth long ball of the season.
• The Griffs' lineup finished the game batting .316 as a team with 12 hits.
• With Sunday's series-clinching win, the Griffs now have five series wins on the season, with four of those coming in MAAC play, doubling last season's conference series win total.
• In the win, Canisius stranded nine runners on base, compared to seven for Iona.

UP NEXT
Canisius returns home Tuesday to host Little Three Rival St. Bonaventure in a midweek matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, N.Y.
 
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