May 29, 2022

Official Canisius Athletics News Release

Third-seeded Canisius scored seven unanswered runs to break a 2-2 tie and claim its fourth MAAC Championship on Sunday, defeating fifth-seed Rider, 9-5, at Clover Stadium in Pomona, N.Y.

Five Golden Griffins recorded multi-hit performances, highlighted by junior Mike DeStefano's three hits. Sophomore Max Grant (Fredericton, N.B.), seniors Dylan Vincent and Trevor Henneman and graduate student Gibson Krzeminski (Tecumseh, Ont.) had two hits apiece.

Graduate student Mike Steffan drove in a Canisius-high three runs and Krzeminski added two RBIs.

Sophomore Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) recorded his second win of the MAAC Baseball Championship after pitching 3 1/3 innings of relief. He allowed one run on three hits while walking one and striking out four.

Freshman Aaron Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) pitched the first two innings for Canisius, allowing a run and three hits. Senior Alec Ritzenthaler, junior Chris Pouliot (Boischatel, Que.) and freshman Peyton Consigli (Fonthill, Ont.) also appeared for the Griffs (29-23).

Rider's Danny Kirwin was the losing pitcher after allowing five hits and five runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Jack Winsett went 3-for-5 for the Broncs, while Luke Lesch and Brendan O'Donnell each hit home runs.

GAME RECAP

Rider loaded the bases in the first and second innings but could only plate one run on a double play turned with the bases loaded in the second.

Canisius took the lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the second behind a bases-loaded walk by senior Kyle Kush (Guelph, Ont.) and an RBI ground out by Henneman.

Ritzenthaler retired the two batters he faced to open the third before handing the ball off to Matt Duffy. Brendan O'Donnell, the first batter Duffy faced, hit his MAAC-leading 20th home run into the left-field bleachers to tie the game at 2-all.

Duffy settled into a groove after the home run, retiring 10 of the final 13 batters he faced.

Steffan and Krzeminski hit two-run singles during the Griffs' five-run fifth that put Canisius ahead, 7-2.

The first four Canisius batters in the fifth logged base hits, highlighted by Steffan's two-run, opposite-field single. Graduate student Vinny Chiarenza and Vincent drew walks, allowing another Canisius run to score. Krzeminski added the Griffs' fifth hit of the frame with a two-run single to put the Griffs ahead by five.

An RBI single by Grant and a sacrifice fly by Steffan in the eighth increased the Griffs' lead to 9-2.

Socrates Bardatsos hit an RBI ground out in the ninth, scoring Rider's first run since the third. Luke Lesch hit a two-run home run to right field, cutting Canisius' lead to 9-5.

After the home run, Consigli fell behind in the count 3-0 but brought the count back to full. On the payoff pitch, the freshman induced a ground out to end the game.

After the victory, Matt Duffy, DeStefano, Grant, Krzeminski and Henneman were the five Canisius players named to the MAAC All-Championship Team. Allowing just one run on six hits over 10 1/3 innings, Duffy was named the Most Valuable Player. He issued just two walks and struck out 11.

Head Coach Matt Mazurek's Postgame Comments:

"Today is a special day for the program. The players and coaches in it, the families, alumni and everyone connected to it. It is special.

"I wouldn't say this [championship] is more special than any other. Each one holds a special place for so many people. This means so much for a group of guys that sacrificed so much over the last two-to-five years to put themselves in this position as champions. It's well deserved and amazing for all involved.

"The efforts our guys made on the mound and at the plate this week were amazing. These guys have put in so much work to succeed at a high level and were locked in all week. It didn't matter who, everyone found a way in some facet to impact this championship.

"Lastly, just add so many thank yous to so many people for the continued support all year long. Good things happen to good people and our entire program deserves this!"

GAME NOTES

• Sunday was the 78th meeting between Canisius and Rider. The Griffs improved to 38-40 over the Broncs with the victory.

• Canisius is the first team in program and MAAC history to have its baseball and softball programs win a MAAC conference tournament title in the same season. Iona (1984 and 1985) and LaSalle (1989) had their baseball and softball programs win MAAC regular season titles in their respective seasons but were not selected for the NCAA Tournament.

• With the victory, Canisius is now 12-2 as a No. 3 seed at the MAAC Baseball Championship and has won its last eight games as the third-ranked team.

• Over the four games at the MAAC Baseball Championship, the Griffs outscored its opponents 33-1 between the fourth and sixth innings.

• Duffy struck out four batters in his 3 1/3 innings of relief, increasing his season total to 116, which stands as the fourth-most by a MAAC pitcher in history. The sophomore is five away from matching the conference record set by Niagara's Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) in 2019 (121).

• With his two hits Sunday, Grant now has 88 hits to put him in sole possession of third place for the most hits by a Canisius player in a season. Grant is one base knock away from No. 2 Steve McQuail (89 in 2010) and four shy of matching Toronto native Connor Panas' single-season record of 92 set in 2015.

• Following his three-hit day, DeStefano has 80 hits this season, ranking ninth in program history. Along with Grant's 88 base knocks, it is the third time in program history that multiple players have had an 80-hit season. Steve McQuail and Ian Choy (Toronto, Ont.) did so in 2010, along with Connor Panas, Brett Siddall (Windsor, Ont.) and Jake Lumley (Windsor, Ont.) in 2015.

• DeStefano also recorded his 22nd steal of the season, tying Kyle Domogala (2000) and Kitchener, Ont., native Sean Jamieson (2011) for the second-most steals by a Canisius player in a single season.

UP NEXT

Canisius will participate in the 2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament next weekend, scheduled for June 3 to June 5. The selection show on Monday at noon will announce the Golden Griffins' opponent and regional site.